Five Total Strangers

“I don’t need to talk to anyone to know what’s happening here. Weary travelers. Tangles of charging cables. Passengers sleeping under suit coats. Cots being moved into the waiting areas. I spot the Arrivals and Departures sign on a nearby wall but I don’t bother getting close. There’s no point in checking for Pittsburgh or possible alternate flights. Every flight has the same status. Canceled.”

The premise of the novel is that Mira cannot get home because of a snowstorm. As Mira lands in Newark, she discovers the chaos that comes with the stranding of hundreds of travelers. Mira is already concerned about being with her mother on the anniversary of her aunt’s death, so the prospect of being stuck in the airport leads Mira to make a decision that both sets the plot of the novel in motion and shows Mira’s desperation and naive decision-making process.

“I open my mouth to argue, because this is ridiculous. I do not climb into cars with a group of strangers or jaunt off into a snowstorm. The window reveals the same unimpressive flurries. Maybe snowstorm is a stretch.

Ridiculous is a stretch, too.

Right now, my mom needs me. This isn’t something I’d normally do, but to get home to Mom? I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The bulk of the novel takes place inside an SUV that contains five strangers attempting to get home after a snowstorm grounds their flights. Mira decides to join this group because of her conviction that her mother cannot emotionally handle being alone on the anniversary of Mira’s aunt’s death. Mira’s belief that her mother cannot handle her own emotions reflects Mira’s relationship with her mother, but also Mira’s inability to face her own grief. She focuses on her mother rather than accept her own feelings. This again illustrates the theme of unexplored grief.

“Mom’s typing bubble pops up almost instantaneously. Of course it does. She lost her sister last Christmas. Daniel a couple of weeks ago. And now her only daughter is driving through a snowstorm that news outlets are treating like the blizzard that drove people to cannibalism on Donner Pass.”

Mira’s fixation on her mother’s emotional state emerges further as she debates whether she should tell her mother the truth about her decision to ride home in a car with strangers. Mira’s decision-making skills are plausible given her young age, as is the drama with which she sees the world, as evidenced by the humorous and exaggerated way that she reflects on the snowstorm and her mother’s emotional state. Furthering the theme of The Consequences of Dishonesty and Distrust, Mira has yet to speak directly to her mother about how the latter actually feels regarding the death of her sister or the end of her marriage; Mira chooses to believe her mother needs her and allows that potentially false belief to govern her decisions.

“Someone screams. That stupid alarm dings away. Harper and Brecken are diving into the driver’s seat, headfirst. But I’m frozen like the chunks of snow Brecken knocked off the windshield wiper. All I can do is watch as the Mustang’s back end slides left. Swings wide. The car spins, and it’s still coming.”

Multiple events place Mira and her companions in danger. This is one of the first, foreshadowing the penultimate moment of danger at the end of the novel. This moment proves to be more dramatic than dangerous, but it sets a foreboding tone that pervades throughout the remainder of the novel.

“It was nothing to pay for your coffee, sweetheart. I would have paid for much more. But you treated it like the most wonderful gift. I felt like an angel, the way you looked at me, with tears welled up in your beautiful, dark eyes.”

The letters that are addressed to Mira are not signed. There is no hint to the gender of the writer, though it becomes clear that the writer is obsessed with Mira and thinks they are meant to be together. The two met on the day Mira’s aunt Phoebe died—a day Mira recalls, though she does not remember the person who paid for her coffee.

“I am really losing it here. He’s not looking at me like that, and I have zero reason to be angry with anyone. I’m upset that Mom’s alone tonight. I’m upset that I didn’t take an earlier flight. Hell, right now I’m upset that I moved across the country, even though Phoebe begged me to stay in this school and Mom agreed with her.”

Mira’s insistence on her mother’s fragile state in the aftermath of Aunt Phoebe’s death reappears, but it is somewhat undermined by Mira’s memory that her mother agreed that Mira should attend school in California. Mira’s focus on her mother shows her desire to protect her mother, but it also distracts her from her own situation. That it caused Mira to place herself in danger by driving home with four strangers illustrates the consequences of such denial.

“I open my mouth to answer, but then I close it. Josh and I share a look that settles deep in my bones. He sees it, too—this nameless connection between them. I don’t know what to call it, but it smells like a secret. One they don’t want us to know.”

The first evidence that there might be a secret among the group comes when Brecken and Harper begin sharing intimate looks and whispers together, touching on the major theme of distrust and dishonesty. This apparent secret and Josh’s opinion that there is more going on plant a seed of suspicion in Mira and cause her to no longer trust Harper and Brecken, while pushing her closer to Josh. In combination with the strange, unsigned letters, these secrets create an impression that everyone is hiding something.

“It’s a man in a battered yellow baseball cap.

A rush of déjà vu washes over me, and my shoulders tense. I’ve seen this before. Something about this—the hat. I’ve seen that hat recently. And I’ve smelled that scent. It isn’t the gas station. It’s him. The man from the rest stop.”

Mira sees this man in the yellow hat multiple times and always inexplicably associates danger with him—perhaps because he smells like the hospital disinfectant she associates with Aunt Phoebe’s death. This man’s presence injects danger into the plot only because of the way Mira responds to him. In the end, Mira realizes that her instincts were incorrect and she shouldn’t have distrusted this man, though his habit of showing up in each place that she travels is suspicious and could be construed as unusual. Narratively, his constant presence is a red herring, encouraging readers to conclude that he is Mira’s stalker.

“He can’t be thinking what it looks like he’s thinking. It has to be something else. He’s not going to just drive out of here, is he?

Because that is stealing.

And if I’ve ever in my life met a person I’d be terrified to steal from, it’s the man sitting on that metal folding chair.”

Many of the things that happen to Mira and her friends are due to uncontrollable circumstances, such as the weather that nearly causes them to crash on the I-80. However, Brecken decides to drive off rather than find a way to pay the gas bill, leading to later danger that could potentially place Brecken in prison. This decision is similar to Mira’s in that it is based on circumstances and immaturity.

“‘Something is going on,’ Harper says. ‘My wallet and her phone?’

‘And my book,’ Josh adds.”

Things begin disappearing in the car, one of the first indications that there is something wrong among the five strangers. The missing things symbolically evoke themes centering around trust and honesty. The missing items are common things that can be misplaced, but each has caused a problem, with the exception of Josh’s book. The missing wallet led to the companions leaving the gas station without paying for a tank of gas, and the missing phone keeps Mira from communicating with her parents and friends. These incidents are the first evidence that someone in the car wishes harm to the others.

“He reaches into his bag reluctantly, giving Harper a faintly horrified look before he pulls a thick, heavy-looking book free of the bag. I don’t need to read the cover to know it’s Proust. I don’t need anyone to say a thing.

Josh’s book is buried in the bottom of Brecken’s duffel bag.”

While multiple things go missing in the SUV during the trip to Pennsylvania, including Mira’s phone, Harper’s wallet, Brecken’s spare cell phone battery, and Kayla’s pills, only Josh’s book is discovered. Josh’s book is one of the least expensive items to go missing and the only one that doesn’t directly impact the group’s ability to continue their trip safely. The discovery of Josh’s book foreshadows the moment when Mira learns the identity of the real thief, but it also shows how the thief attempts to blame Brecken for their actions and why Mira believes Brecken is the culprit.

“You trust your gut, okay?

My dad’s words thrum just beneath my skin. Because if my gut is to be trusted, I need to get away from here. Away from this car, these people. Every sense I have is heightened and aware—warning me to run.”

One of the novel’s themes is distrust and dishonesty. Here Mira begins to understand that something is wrong with the group of people with whom she is traveling and that one of them is lying to everyone. This understanding causes Mira’s instincts to tell her that she is no longer safe, though the reader knows Mira is in much greater danger than she knows. This sense of danger increases when Mira sees the man in the yellow hat once again. Mira’s instincts tell her to run, but she fails to do so, foreshadowing a confrontation later in the novel with Josh.

“‘This feels like an opportunity to pin everything on me and pretend you all had nothing to do with it,’ Brecken says, sounding more annoyed than afraid.”

Further developing the theme of trust and dishonesty, Brecken feels that someone is attempting to make him look like a criminal. First, Brecken drives off and steals a tank of gas; he then finds Josh’s missing book in his bag. Brecken was behind the wheel when Corey was injured during a confrontation between Mira and her companions and the gas station owner and his son. If Brecken is innocent, someone is clearly lying. This situation contributes to the novel’s mysterious tone, nudging the reader to question whether they can trust what is right in front of them.

“Plus, I knew right away what I had to do after Phoebe died. I had to be strong for Mom. I still have to be strong for Mom.

But if I didn’t?

Another version of me might have ended up where Kayla is now.”

Exploring the theme of grief, Mira reflects on how she might have followed Kayla’s footsteps and fallen into a drug addiction due to profound grief. Mira’s grief is something that is constantly with her, but she has buried her own feelings under her need to protect her mother. Mira believes her mother cannot handle grief on her own, causing her to focus so hard on spending the anniversary of her aunt’s death with her mother that she has put herself in a car with a group of strangers.

“I don’t care if he drives. I don’t care that he stole. In this second, I don’t even care if he meant to hit Corey in that parking lot, as long as he gets us away from this place.

And away from this man.”

Tension builds as Mira recognizes that the man in a yellow hat has shown up in several places where she and her companions have stopped. This is the third or fourth sighting of the man. While the man has done nothing to hurt any one in the SUV, Mira senses danger around him because he smells of the same disinfectants that filled the room where her aunt died. That she associates danger with many things that remind her of her aunt’s death illustrates her grief.

“I swallow hard and follow Brecken, stepping out into the biting wind. We close the doors, and just like that, we’re alone. The occupants of the car might as well be on another planet. Wind whistles down the mountainside and the snow crunches when I shift my feet. Brecken looks at me across the top of the car and I zip my coat, feeling like his eyes are cutting right through me.”

Mira’s distrust of Brecken grows and is evident as she finds herself alone with him. This increases the tone of danger and fear that has been building in the novel from the first pages. Mira, however, doesn’t have all the clues, and therefore cannot know for sure who is behind the thefts and the odd things happening. She does know that Brecken believes it is Josh. This lays clues for the reader, foreshadowing the moment the real liar is revealed.

“But you didn’t see me.

You didn’t see me.

And I’m going to make you pay.”

This (at the time anonymous) letter to Mira reveals Josh’s motive. He is angry because Mira didn’t remember him from the day they met in the hospital cafeteria. This shows that the person behind the thefts and other difficulties during this road trip has a skewed perspective and intends to harm Mira. While Mira’s attention is focused on Brecken, Natalie D. Richards drops clues that foreshadow the truth.

“This is classic dissociation—my brain’s gift, letting me float away from the harsh reality to keep myself from falling to pieces. I read about this in a grief brochure after Phoebe died. Logically, I should be grateful for this feeling, because, as Phoebe’s hospice nurse told us, numbness is a gift. It keeps us moving and helps us to survive the things that feel unsurvivable.”

Touching on unexplored grief again, Mira relates her current state of overwhelming fear to her emotional reaction to Phoebe’s death. Mira separates herself from the situation so she can continue functioning while not dealing with her emotions. This is exactly what Mira has done with her grief by focusing so completely on her mother’s well-being that she hasn’t allowed herself to feel the pain of losing Phoebe. Mira uses this tool again as she finds herself in a car with a person she believes intentionally ran over another human being.

“We come to a gentle stop. My center of balance shifts, and I grip the seat hard. My stomach tilts, and my vision swirls like the whole world has gone sideways. I shake my head, but my balance doesn’t settle. Because we are sideways, or, at the very least, listing to the left like a boat at the mercy of a big wave. I shift, trying to push myself away from Josh. I’m mashed against his body, and Kayla is mashed against me.”

Richards repeatedly used dangerous or unusual circumstances to inject tension into the plot. This is the penultimate moment of danger, where the group becomes stranded after driving into a ditch hidden by a snowbank. This is the first time the group is unable to continue forward in the SUV. Escape is taken off the table, meaning the final confrontation between Mira and her stalker will happen soon.

“My legs burn from wading through the snow, and I’m breathing fast, but I’m thrilled. It’s cold, but I don’t care. I could climb Everest in a bathing suit right now, because there are people! People who are not Harper and Brecken and Josh and Kayla. People who can help me get home.”

Richard injects a moment of hope into the plot, allowing Mira to find a possible solution to her situation. However, the obsessive nature of the writer of the unsigned letters suggests that whoever is stalking Mira will not allow her to walk away. In another example of the thematic focus on trust and honesty, Mira’s understanding of her situation likely differs from the reader’s understanding. For Mira, this is a moment of optimism. However, the moment foreshadows coming confrontation. The focus on distant homes encourages the reader to consider if Mira will ever reach her home again.

“My hands feel numb as I peel open the flap and tip the envelope up, dumping the contents into the trunk. The other smaller envelopes spill out in a hiss of paper, along with an assortment of miscellaneous items that must have been at the bottom of the mailer. A map of Pennsylvania, Harper’s wallet, and a battery that I’m guessing is Brecken’s. But my eyes lock on a familiar black rectangle with a shattered screen. My phone.”

Mira has just experienced great hope in realizing she is close to people other than those she has been trapped with. However, her hopes are dashed when she discovers the missing items in her bag. This discovery shows several things. First, it shows how close the thief is and how this person has covertly played games on the others. Second, by placing all the items in Mira’s bag, this person makes it clear that the moment of confrontation has arrived: They are directly implicating Mira. Third, this person’s ability to leave the items in Mira’s bag while everyone else is milling around shows they can get close without revealing themselves.

“You aren’t calling your parents again, Mira. You aren’t going to Pittsburgh. You aren’t going home. You’ll stay here, deep in the mountains. I’ll find a place, a private place where no one will find us.

Maybe then you’ll see me.

Maybe then you’ll understand that you’re mine.”

The final letter reveals the stalker’s intentions. This threat explains many things that have happened throughout the novel, such as the decision to switch routes and go into the mountains, as well as the lost wallet, the lost map, and the broken phone. This confession suggests only two people who could be behind everything: Brecken or Josh. Due to Josh’s injury, Mira focuses on Brecken, laying the groundwork for Mira to turn to Josh for help and leading to their confrontation.

“Numbness is a gift. That’s what the nurse told me, and I believe her now. Because for one blissful breath I feel nothing looking at Josh. He stole our things. Wrote me letters. Pushed poison pills into Kayla’s outstretched hand. He did all of this, and now he is hustling down the mountain without the vaguest hint of a limp. He is walking and I am back on my knees, watching this all unfold like I have nothing to do with it at all.”

The moment Mira realizes that Josh is her stalker, she falls into numbness that parallels her feelings after the death of Phoebe. In a moment that touches on themes of grief, dishonesty, and trust, Mira struggles to absorb what is happening around her just as she has struggled to navigate the grief of losing her aunt Phoebe. There might also be a sense of grief in this moment, as she believed she had developed a friendship with Josh during their tumultuous road trip. Knowing the truth, however, does nothing to protect Mira from what is coming.