Simon Sort of Says

Simon’s mom and dad are the most important sources of support in his life. His mother is a funeral director with a dark sense of humor, and his dad is a deacon at the local Catholic church. Simon’s parents are overbearing when the family first moves to GNB, as they are recovering from their own trauma after almost losing their son. Simon and his parents often get in arguments about who has it harder, but Simon always wins. Simon’s parents are always glad when he does something that they consider “normal,” like having a friend over or riding his bike. Simon’s parents worry about him constantly, but they allow him to have independence and the freedom to find his strength again. Simon’s mother is a prime example of The Importance of Humor in Life’s Darkest Moments because her profession deals with death and yet she always seems able to keep her head above it with a good joke.

Because Simon and his parents are traumatized by what they went through, their time in GNB is a process of Healing From Trauma as a Family. Simon realizes that “[his] parents are traumatized too” and understands when they over-worry (176). Simon’s mother in particular has had to plan funerals and serve families whose children died and whom she knew well. Similarly, when Simon has a trauma reaction and can’t come out from under his bed, his parents crawl under the bed with him and stay there until he feels safe again. Simon’s parents are also the object of their own controversies, as Simon’s dad gives a sermon about doubting God’s plan and Simon’s mom has an employee that loses a body. All the attention from these incidents, along with Simon’s own past, tests the family’s strength and their solidarity as a unit. Simon’s parents protect him in the face of media attention, and Simon always knows that he can count on them.

Agate becomes Simon’s new best friend when he moves to GNB. She approaches him one day and instantly likes him because he doesn’t have the same ties to the town ideology that everyone else who lives there has. Simon describes Agate as having red frizzy hair and a larger build, but this is also something she holds no shame about. Her family lives for a “more organic pace of life” and runs a farm where they raise goats, ducks, and service dogs (21). Agate is open about the fact that she is on the autism spectrum, which surprises Simon and helps him slowly open up about his PTSD: “Agate being cool about her brain stuff makes me feel a little safer about my brain stuff” (30). Agate’s straightforward and non-judgmental nature allows Simon to feel comfortable and begin Living With PTSD. She always knows when Simon is being reminded of his trauma and does what she can to help, like reminding him to breathe, giving him other things to focus on, and even giving him a service dog puppy that Simon names Hercules.

When Simon finally tells Agate about his past, she simply accepts it as it is: “She is pink with pedaling and being upside down, and there is grass and emu feathers in her tangled red hair, but she looks at me the way people look at stars. There is nothing in her eyes but openness, and wonder” (147). Agate is also extremely intelligent and sets up the space message project using her scientific knowledge. She puts most of her focus into the project, and her enthusiasm knows no limits. Agate is also deeply loyal and jumps out of the treehouse with Simon in a grand gesture of solidarity and The Redemptive Power of Friendship. Agate, who is named after a type of gemstone, becomes the “rock” in Simon’s life.