A central theme in The Hawthorne Legacy is coming-of-age, a common trope in YA literature. Avery best epitomizes this theme as the reader witnesses the character’s transition from a pawn used by the Hawthornes to a self-governing agent—a player in the game. Avery’s worry that she’s treated as a mere object by the Hawthornes begins in The Inheritance Games, when it seems that billionaire philanthropist Tobias has left his fortune to Avery with the sole purpose of manipulating his family. Nash warns her as much when he likens her to the glass ballerina that Tobias would provide his grandsons as a clue in solving riddles. In The Hawthorne Legacy, Avery fights back at this objectification, telling Grayson, “I’m not the glass ballerina” (167).

Avery progressively asserts herself as an adult with control over her own life. In the final chapters, her independent state of mind becomes clear—for example, when she looks at a portrait of Tobias and thinks, “I was done being used” (342). She recognizes her growth, telling herself, “I’m starting to realize that the person I need to be, the person I’m becoming—she’s not that girl anymore” (349).