The Science of Breakable Things

Alice Napoli is Natalie’s mother, a botanist who has depression and does not go to work during the novel’s time period. Natalie creates a contrast between her “old Mom,” whom she views as the “real” one, and this new “imposter”—her Mom when she is depressed. She even asserts that she “hates” this new mom. The novel is presented from Natalie’s viewpoint, and her mother’s perspective is not often conveyed, as she is filtered through Natalie’s voice. There are many days when she stays in her bedroom, missing important occasions like Christmas morning and Natalie’s egg-drop competition. This makes Natalie believe her mother does not care about anything anymore and has given up on life. At first, Natalie tries to punish her mother by replicating this behavior, retreating into her own bedroom and pretending not to care. However, Natalie focuses throughout the novel on using the scientific method to come up with an explanation and a potential cure for her mother.

Through her investigation, Natalie learns more about her mother and about depression. There was no magical, sudden cause for her mother’s depression, and there is no magical, sudden cure for it either. Although Natalie doesn’t remember it, Alice also had depression when Natalie was very young, and the pair spent a month in bed together. Natalie’s assumptions about her mother’s work are also incorrect: Alice was not fired, and she retains her office, decorated with family photos, at the lab. Her experiment with orchids did not yield the expected results, and there were issues with funding her research, and she has not returned to the lab due to her depression. She begins seeing a therapist late in the novel, after her former boss brings Natalie home from a foiled break-in at the lab that was designed to find a cure for her, and she begins taking pleasure in her family life and her work in her home greenhouse again.

John Napoli is Natalie’s father and Alice’s husband. As is true of Alice, he is mostly rendered from Natalie’s perspective. His mother is Korean, but he does not embrace his Korean identity or maintain Korean traditions; he claims that he grew tired of them when he was growing up. However, he cooks dduk with Natalie on New Year’s Eve at her request, a Korean dish they hope will bring the family good luck in the coming year.

John is a therapist who sometimes goes into “Therapist Dad” mode to “therapize” Natalie at the beginning of the book as he struggles to find the right way to address his wife’s depression with their daughter. He refers Natalie to a therapist who is outside their family, Dr. Doris, instead of trying to treat her himself. Natalie seems to grasp the logic behind this decision, but she is also temporarily angry with him for not being able to instantly “fix” her mom, despite his training.

John’s behavior changes multiple times throughout the novel in response to his wife’s depression and his daughter’s needs. He demonstrates the effects that depression has on family members. First, he takes on additional household responsibilities that his wife used to manage, such as cooking and driving Natalie. He tries to remain positive, but she thinks she detects his anger when his wife doesn’t leave her room on Christmas morning. Later, distance grows between him and Natalie as he begins to express his increasing anger and frustration, despite his wish to help and support his wife. He also helps Natalie understand the nature of her mother’s depression: It was always there, was not brought on by some sudden catalyst, is not Natalie’s fault, and is not something her mom is “doing” intentionally. He reassures her that her mom still loves her, and getting better is possible but is also a slow process with no miracle cures.

Twig is Natalie’s best friend. The girls have been inseparable since Twig moved to town in fourth grade, but they didn’t have other friends until Dari began working with them in science class. Twig’s parents are separated and wealthy. This allows her to be somewhat reckless and irresponsible in her behavior; her parents donate money to the school, so she is never expelled, no matter how much trouble she gets in. She also makes regular trips to Paris and brings gifts for Natalie back each time. Twig prefers playing board games over doing homework, but she’s a deeply loyal friend. Even though she and Natalie don’t openly discuss the hard parts of life like they did when they were younger, they’re still always together. Twig always tries to help Natalie, but she doesn’t discuss her parents’ separation with her or share her feelings about not seeing her father on Christmas morning.

At first, Natalie doesn’t tell Twig about her mother’s depression, but when she breaks down on Christmas, she’s pleasantly surprised that her friend is so supportive and understanding. Being able to open up to Twig is essential to Natalie’s healing journey. Through mending her friendship with Natalie and befriending Dari, Twig learns that if she applies the same commitment to her school projects that she demonstrates in her friendships, she can excel in school too.

Mr. Neely is Natalie’s seventh-grade science teacher. He’s not young, but he is a highly enthusiastic, passionate, energetic, and optimistic new teacher who switched careers from something he found less interesting. At first, Natalie resists his excessive enthusiasm, but she warms up to him. Mr. Neely gives her the assignment to keep a “Wonderings Journal” for science; this serves as the genesis for the novel.

In addition to providing the structure for the novel, Mr. Neely moves the plot along by suggesting the egg-drop competition and subtly urging Natalie to become friends with Dari. Although he doesn’t express it directly, Mr. Neely seems to sense that Natalie needs extra help and attention during this school year. He acts as a “gardener” or “healer,” urging the students to “open up” and helping new friendships and curiosity to bloom.

Dari Kapoor is the smartest student in Natalie and Twig’s science class. At first, Natalie avoids him because he’s a “supernerd,” but he eventually grows on her and Twig. They all work together on the egg drop, becoming friends and a “team.” Through Dari, the girls learn that showing enthusiasm and love toward other people is not a weakness; showing that one cares about friends and family makes everyone stronger together. Dari didn’t have friends before the girls, but he seems to know instinctively how to be a good friend, having already learned how to be a good son. Natalie continues to resist Dari even after they start working together because she’s worried he will take her place in Twig’s life. When she visits his house to work on the project, she sees that his family takes pride in its Indian heritage and traditions, incorporating them into the décor. Dari’s parents are welcoming and happy that he has friends over. Their celebration of their origins prompts Natalie to realize that her father’s rejection of his Korean roots may be cause for concern.

Mikayla Menzer is in Natalie’s class, and her mother was Alice’s boss at the botany lab. Mikayla and Natalie used to be best friends but began drifting apart in fourth grade, around the time Twig moved to town and replaced her as Natalie’s new best friend. Now, Mikayla and Natalie avoid each other at school, feeling awkward. Part of this awkwardness is due to the mistaken belief that Mikayla’s mom fired Natalie’s mother. Mostly, to explain why she and Mikayla stopped being friends, Natalie uses the same logic she uses with her parents at the beginning of the book: Mikayla became “not-Mikayla,” meaning she shifted into being a different person.

After Natalie breaks into the lab and discovers Mrs. Menzer didn’t fire her mother, Mrs. Menzer also drops the hint that Natalie should try to clear the air with her daughter. Having learned that things are not always as they seem, Natalie speaks to Mikayla and discovers that she didn’t stop being her friend on purpose; she simply felt that she couldn’t compete with Twig.