This Poison Heart

“[Mom] thought if I became a scientist, I could figure out where my power came from and what exactly it was for. It seemed like a good idea when she first brought it up, but as I got older, the ‘how’ became less important than the ‘why.’”

Briseis’s thoughts about the origin of her powers in the context of her botanical knowledge creates a link between science and magic. While she spends the bulk of the novel investigating the reasons that her powers exist in the first place, her botanical know-how proves consistently useful on a practical basis. Whenever that knowledge is lacking, Briseis does research, and this dynamic therefore rejects the traditional view that science and magic are binary opposites, instead framing them as fields that reinforce one another.

“People said [Mo and I] favored each other, and it was nice to have someone that kind of looked like me. Me and Mom didn’t have any similar features, but we had the same sense of humor and the same laugh.”

This excerpt explores the social complications that may arise for adoptees given that people often expect parents and children to share similar physical attributes. The quote also celebrates the spiritual inheritance that adoptees receive from their parents, as while Briseis enjoys her physical resemblance to one of her moms, she recognizes that she has also “inherited” certain attributes from Thandie, as well, albeit not in the traditional sense of a heritable trait. This reinforces the novel’s consistently positive characterizations of adoptive families.

“There’s nothing here that I don’t mind leaving behind for a while. As long as I got you two, I’m good.”

Briseis’s closeness with her moms, who are positioned as the central figures in her life, subverts a YA trope wherein friends are the most important relationships. Briseis’s closeness with her parents is emphasized by the honesty that characterizes their interactions.