Wild Bird

The Clemmens family consists of Wren; her parents, Morris and Lydia Clemmens; her older sister, Annabella; and her younger brother, Morris Lee, or “Mo.” Wren has a complicated relationship with her family, and this feeds into the issues she experiences during her middle school years and her freshman year at high school.

With the narration taking place entirely through Wren’s voice, there is barely any insight into the other characters’ motivations and thoughts. Thus, the presentation of Wren’s family is colored by Wren’s perceptions. She does not speak much about her father and has far more conflict with her mother, primarily because she misses her mother’s affection. This dynamic becomes apparent in Wren’s irritation whenever her mother sends typed letters, and even Tara, the camp counselor, observes that Lydia’s first letter to Wren seems detached.

Lydia’s distance from Wren is exacerbated by the fact that she has a closer connection to her other daughter, Annabella. Wren perceives Annabella as the perfect or preferred daughter and resents the fact that her sister is smart, popular, and well-liked. Wren specifically resents her earlier therapy sessions because Lydia and Annabella spent quality time together while she was forced to go to therapy and thus become further isolated from her mother’s affections. This further exacerbates Wren’s relationship with Annabella, which is already strained because of how different the two sister are.

Annabella is motivated to follow rules and conform to her parents’ expectations; thus, she is suspicious of her sister’s problematic new friends and habits. Wren perceives Annabella’s interference as being nagging and invasive, and it only fuels the hate she feels for her sister. It is only toward the end of book, when Wren reflects on her actions and takes accountability for them, that a picture of Annabella as a concerned older sister emerges.

Throughout the trials and challenges that Wren faces with the rest of her family, her relationship with Mo remains strong. This helps highlight Wren’s underlying character as someone who is capable of shouldering real responsibility. Wren’s desire to be a better role model for Mo also motivates her to work on her issues while at camp. These contrasting dynamics in Wren’s family further highlight the theme of The Struggles of Adolescence, for this time frame represents a tumultuous period of increased responsibility and independence, during which teenagers like Wren also need a fair amount of guidance and love. 

Meadow and Nico are two of the most significant influences in Wren’s life during her most troubled years. Meadow is a girl whom Wren befriends when she moves to Orange County. The two girls bond over their shared dislike of their respective names, and Meadow introduces Wren to marijuana. Although Wren initially welcomes Meadow’s friendship and believes that the older girl is truly fond of her, Meadow’s manipulative and exploitative nature is eventually revealed. She puts on a façade to convince Wren’s parents that she is trustworthy, and she also lies to Wren for months and uses her to get things that she wants. She even teaches Wren to shoplift and to steal from her parents. Meadow is jealous, controlling, and violent by nature. She is furious that Wren gets closer to Nico, and she tries to sabotage this relationship in various ways for her own purposes.

Meadow and Wren’s toxic relationship is the primary reason for Wren’s trust issues; Nico, on the other hand, is a more dangerous element because of his criminal behaviors and access to harmful and illegal drugs. He is an older high school boy, and because Wren develops a crush on him, she does whatever she can to be around him. However, Nico deals hard drugs and draws Wren into that world as well. Nico and Meadow’s combined influence on Wren sends her spiraling into a pattern of substance abuse and destructive behavior. By the end of the book, however, a changed Wren is convinced that she needs to cut ties with both of them, especially following their arrest.