Content Warning: This section contains discussions of ableism.

The novel’s inciting incident—Emerson’s loss of his weighted shoes to the lake—imbues the shoes with symbolic resonance: the loss of the shoes makes him less safe, but it also makes him freer, more able to fully live his life. As a level five RISK kid, Emerson’s mother equips him with two fail-safes to keep his RISK factor in check at all times: his weighted vest, and his pair of weighted metal shoes. When he wears them, he cannot float away unexpectedly, but they also drastically inhibit his ability to move freely in his life, play with others, or even spend extended outside of his room. Both Emerson and his mother have convinced themself that multiple fail-safes are necessary as a result of their own trauma, anxiety, and society’s implicit bias against those with RISK factors. If the straps of his vest were to come loose, his shoes would keep him safe. He only ever takes the shoes off occasionally inside his home, which isolates him and prevents him from connecting with others. Although this system makes sense from the perspective of preserving his life, it prevents him from

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now