Not Quite Dead Yet

Time is a central motif in the novel, taking on an almost physical presence through Jet’s efforts to defeat time and solve her own murder. The narrative offers a countdown of Jet’s time left through the dated titles of each section that remind the reader how much time Jet has left. At several points in the novel, Jet feels the pressure of this countdown, and time becomes the primary antagonist she faces. While she talks with the police, she notes, “Ecker glanced at the digital clock hanging over Jet’s head. She turned to follow his eyes: 4:52 pm. It had the seconds too, ticking up in angry red digits—red for danger, and blood, and mistakes” (84). This idea recurs throughout the novel, as Jet repeatedly notes the passage of time and the pressure it puts her under to solve her murder.

In this way, time develops the theme of The Value of Living in the Present. Jet learns to value her time more and more as she has less of it left. As she acknowledges to Billy that he has given her the “best week” she could ever have, she realizes for the first time that life is “about all those small moments [she] missed while [she] was waiting” to be happy (317).