The Barren Grounds

“‘But this isn’t my home,’ Morgan said. ‘The last seven places weren’t my home either. Do you think’—Morgan took a deep breath, a technique she’d learned to remain calm—‘a breakfast made into a face is going to change any of that?’”

Morgan reveals her history in the foster care system for the first time; her cynical attitude toward Katie and James makes sense given how many homes she’s been in. This quote also shows how badly Morgan wants a home. She resists any effort that Katie and James make to welcome her for fear of disappointment. The deep breaths she takes reveal her struggle to remain calm; she tries to control her anger, but more often than not she fails.

“‘It’s not just that people wouldn’t like talking to me; I don’t think they’d like me period,’ Morgan said, as though they’d been talking the whole time.

‘I like you,’ Eli said.”

Morgan reveals that she doesn’t like herself, which is why she’s withdrawn all the time. She is a loner because she’s insecure. This statement happens in the first conversation she and Eli have, so when he reveals he likes her it lays the foundation for their positive relationship.

“I run away, […] or they don’t like me. Or I run away because they don’t like me. I get older and, you know, they want a cute Native kid. And I can tell, so, I don’t know...I guess I act like a jerk. They’re saviors, you know. Like, all of them. Katie and James too. They want to save kids like us.”

Morgan explains that she has run away from so many foster homes because she feels unwanted. This quote reveals the state of the foster system for an Indigenous child: The system does more harm than good for her. It is the first time white saviors are mentioned, and Morgan reveals that her suspicion of Katie and James flows from her familiarity with this attitude.