One key character trait of Gilly’s is that she fears rejection. As a child in the foster care system, Gilly Hopkins has learned to cope with the fear of being abandoned by developing a shield around herself that prevents her from being hurt. Gilly pretends that she does not need anyone and that she is completely independent. Whenever others offer assistance, she always insists that she does not need their help. When Maime Trotter tries to comfort Gilly, Gilly slams the door on her face and shouts for Maime Trotter to “get her fat self outta here!” (30). When Agnes Stokes wants to be friends, Gilly tells Agnes that she does not want help (43) and constantly teases Agnes. Gilly attacks those who offer love and friendship as a way of preventing herself from being hurt.

The author provides a flashback to a memory of the Dixons, a foster family that Gilly previously lived with, and uses tone and imagery to portray Gilly’s attachment to this family and subsequent pain when they moved away without taking her. She states that her foster mother tricked her with “all that rocking and love talk.