One of the themes that is shown throughout the novel is learning how to trust others. This is shown through Valerie as she begins her visits with Dr. Heiler in order to recover from the shooting. When she first met him, Valerie seemed skeptical about therapy until he commented "'In this office, anything can fly'" (195) about the heavy wooden balloon that she pointed out. That one comment helped Valerie begin opening up to Dr. Helier and she was able to recover and feel settled for once since the shooting. Just like in real life, withoutout having people around that are trustworthy, recovery as well as being social would not be made
