Kate’s portion of the novel explores the negative repercussions of attempting to mask your true identity to please others. Kate presents in a more stereotypically feminine way. She has long, lustrous hair that she wears in a ponytail and is head of her cheer squad. Although Kate understands that she is supposed to be the “prettiest girl in school” and “the smartest, most talented girl, too” (40), meeting Tam changes how she sees herself. With Tam, she both develops feelings for a girl for the first time and discovers the emotional freedom of following her heart. Despite their connection, Kate lives with constant pressure from her mom to be someone she isn’t. Kate’s mom wants Kate to uphold a perfect facade. Desperate not to disappoint her the way her sister Jill did, Kate does everything in her power to make her mom happy. However, the longer she contorts herself to satisfy her mom’s impossible expectations, the more trapped Kate feels.

The narrative uses the recurring image of Kate’s Falcon mascot costume and Kate’s MisDirection posters to represent the struggle Kate feels between others’ expectations of who she should be and her personal desires.