What to Say Next

David’s notebook fulfills both symbolic and plot-furthering roles in the text. Before it is stolen, the notebook represents David’s social isolation. The notebook contains sections documenting “notable incidents” with different classmates; most of these incidents, despite being supposedly notable, are minor. The notebook illustrates David’s need to methodically process the things that his neurotypical classmates understand instinctually. This difference in ways of thinking about social interaction builds distance between David and the other Mapleview students. The notebook occupies a dual role as a tool that keeps David safe and an item that gets him in trouble. When David’s notebook is stolen, it leads to conflict with his classmates—though not, to his relief, with Kit. That Kit looks at David’s most private musings and finds delight and recognition, instead of revulsion like the other students, shows that she accepts David on a deeper level. David does not reference using the notebook after it is returned to him, implying that his social skills are improving and that he perhaps no longer relies on the notebook to organize his interpersonal relationships.

The notebook is another way that Buxbaum manages to subvert the typical gender roles presented in the teen movies that David references throughout the text; in these films, it is usually the diary of a female character that goes missing or becomes exposed.