Squid Girl by Todd Strasser puts the reader in the shoes of Sierra, a 13 year-old girl trying to have a good time on spring vacation. Throughout the story Sierra finds herself having trouble talking to a boy she likes and dealing with her crazy nature loving parents. The story's conflicts all outline teenage problems like being pushed into uncomfortable situations, disagreeing with parental ideals, and putting yourself out there. From the beginning of the story it is clear that Sierra has great problem with being stuck on an island with her parents. It's understandable that she would be uncomfortable in an unknown place so far away from everything that she was used to. But in Sierra's case she's been uncomfortable since before they even arrived …show more content…
She felt that when she was being herself she acted like a know-it-all or she was showing off. In reality, she just wasn't able to express her feelings through her actions or even her own words. She was so afraid of embarrassing herself that she ended up pushing Travis away. The author points out a common teenage problem, teenagers have trouble introducing themselves to people that they like, because they are afraid that they won't be excepted for who they are. Every attempt ends with what feels like a failure which only makes them stray farther away from social interactions as a whole. In this case, Sierra had all but given up with getting to know Travis when she said, "Having just made Travis look bad in front of his little brother, you shrug miserably. He must totally hate you now. You're a freak. A major nerd. Utterly unfit for social interaction with boys" (Strasser 221). Sierra thinks that just because she told the truth a few times that she's completely ruined her chances of becoming friends with Travis. However, in the end her telling the truth causes Travis to win a argument and they hit it off. Sierra blew a simple situation out of proportion, but when she finally calmed down she was able to reach her