One of Us Is Next

“If you don’t, why pay a fortune for a degree you might never use? There’s nothing wrong with not having your entire life mapped out when you’re eighteen.”

In a continuation of the coming-of-age trope, Maeve struggles with the idea of her future as her sister, Bronwyn, who currently attends Yale, pressures her to make a commitment. Addy, another member of the Bayview Four, serves as a middle ground during the interaction. Maeve is unready to make such a life-impacting commitment, and Bronwyn’s hyperfixation on Maeve’s future college highlights the differences in motivations for the sisters.

“One time when we were at the Bayview Mall food court, Dad went to the bathroom and came back to see an older couple surreptitiously checking out my dark-haired, olive-skinned mother and her three paled, redheaded kids. Dad plopped down next to Mom and put an arm around her shoulders, flashing a grin at the couple. ‘See, now we make sense,’ he said.”

Phoebe’s memories of her father demonstrate the levels of grief she continues to experience after his death. She feels a hole has been created by his loss, and their family doesn’t make sense without his presence, which is only amplified by the fact that Phoebe, Emma, and Owen all inherited his bright red hair.

“We’ve all been model citizens since then, at least when it comes to online gossip. Nobody can imagine getting through a school day—never mind years—without their phones.”

The prioritizing of phones over the well-being of the individual students, and the student body, is prevalent throughout the novel. Phoebe chooses to sacrifice herself and to go through further bullying so that everyone can keep their phones. This quote alludes to the addictive nature of social media and the power the students have given Unknown by their reliance on social media.