Flight Of The Puffin

Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of bias against transgender and nonbinary people, bullying, being unhoused, and the death of a young child.

The first of the story’s four protagonists that the novel introduces, Libby is an artist who uses her creativity to make the world more joyful and beautiful. However, her parents discourage her creative spirit, seeing it as a waste of time. Libby’s major conflict is in proving that she isn’t like her parents, whom she considers bullies. Her goal is to make the world a better place, rather than making it worse. Libby’s flaw is that she often doesn’t think things through, and when she gets caught painting a school wall, she gets in trouble with both her parents and her school.

Libby keeps a rock from her former art teacher that reminds her to “create the world of [her] dreams” (6), and she constantly tells herself that being true to herself matters more than trying to appease people who have unfair expectations. Thus, Libby’s character thematically reflects Self-Preservation and Being Oneself. She has a moment of doubt when she wonders, “Maybe things would be easier if I could do a better job of staying closed up” (42), but she quickly remembers who she is and why she values self-expression and art.