The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination.

“[A]t the Jurdabralinski house, Fritzi was the main attraction for both the boys and girls.”

Fritzi is strong and outgoing from an early age. She does not simply accept gender norms and is always looking for an adventure, foreshadowing her future as a wingwalker and pilot who will make history.

“No matter how many times Dena had tried to tell her, Sookie never understood what a great gal she was on her own. She had been one of the funniest and best-liked girls on campus, but she had never quite believed it.”

Sookie has low self-esteem at the start of the novel, largely because her mother always makes her feel like she has not lived up to her potential. Sookie’s struggle to see herself through her own eyes instead of Lenore’s reflects the Complicated Relationships Between Mothers and Daughters. By the end of the book, Sookie will come to recognize that she has many strengths, just as Dena asserts.

“I’m not myself. I’m just one big piece of plasma floating around in space…the Invisible Woman. Why couldn’t I have found all this out when I was young and still had a chance to change? Now it’s too late. I’m already formed. I’m just a second-banana kind of person, and I always will be.”

Sookie is panicked to learn that she’s not sure what her own personality is like, especially after planning her three daughters’ weddings and being an empty nester. Her journey throughout the novel helps her to take control of her life and feel proud of her identity.