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“It was amazing!”

With this exclamation, Olive tells her mother about her day at school. The exuberance of her declaration reveals her positive outlook and sense of social belonging at the beginning of the graphic novel. Later, Olive’s mood will change substantially as she is excluded from the various cliques, so this line is meant to create an initial baseline for Olive’s social life and emphasize the drastic shifts that she is about to undergo.

“I…uh…I don’t know yet.”

Compared to Olive’s usual exuberance and enthusiasm, this line reflects her newfound confusion, frustration, and uncertainty with her rapidly shifting social landscape. When she is comfortable and confident, Olive talks to her family in long, excited sentences, describing every detail. By contrast, this line shows how drastically Olive’s communication style changes when she feels awkward and insecure. She speaks in stops and starts and struggles to find the words to communicate how she feels.

“What’s the matter, jellybean?”

This affectionate line comes from Olive’s mother, who notices Olive’s glum mood and checks on her, using a childhood term of endearment. This moment reveals how intuitive and empathetic Olive’s mom is while also suggesting that Olive’s mother still sees the protagonist as a child rather than as an adolescent with a new set of worries and challenges. This sense of disconnect foreshadows the resistance that Olive’s mother will have to Olive’s ambition to host the variety show.

“I can’t just ask to be in one of their acts. That’s so dorky.”

This line emphasizes the self-consciousness that Olive feels amongst her friends at school, and it also shows that her mother’s solutions are a mismatch with the social realities that Olive must now navigate. Her statement reveals her fear that asking to be included seems desperate and therefore risks even more exclusion. As a result, Olive chooses a more passive style of communication, waiting for her friends to notice her and hoping that they will actively choose to include her.

“It didn’t even cross their minds.”

The bitter tone of this statement shows that Olive’s exclusion functions on two different levels. To Olive, the idea that her friends could not be bothered to include her is devastating, and she assumes that they don’t think about her or value her at all. On the other hand, she does not realize that because she has so many friends, the various groups that she associates with may not realize that she feels excluded.

“Oof. I guess she’s finally turned into our mother.”

This line from Aunt Molly suggests a whole backstory involving the approach that Olive’s grandmother once took to parenting. While Aunt Molly supports Olive’s need to explore new ways to express herself, Olive’s mom wants to intervene in order to help Olive feel included. Aunt Molly suggests that this pattern also played out in their adolescence, implying that Aunt Molly’s mother tried to pressure her daughters to fit in.

“I’m just the extra friend.”

This line represents the way that Olive sees herself, especially when she feels excluded and insecure. Rather than noticing the fact that all of her friends enjoy her company, she fixates on the idea that she is an extraneous presence, thereby reinforcing her internal sense of exclusion, which will eventually be proven to be a misconception.

“The word basically means a small group of people you ‘click’ with.”

This line from Aunt Molly stresses the double meaning in the title and points to a theme running through the graphic novel: Learning How to Navigate Cliques and understanding how they function in a broader social context. Aunt Molly describes cliques in a neutral and even positive way, focusing on the process by which cliques form around common interests.

“I…don’t want to choose.”

This moment from Olive’s dream represents a turning point in the narrative. She feels herself pulled in all directions as she changes herself to fit in with different cliques, but suddenly, she realizes that she doesn’t want to conform to any one group. This moment also returns Olive to a place of autonomy enabling her to make a better decision for her own well-being instead of simply hoping that a group will ask her to join.

“I’ll see you at school, I guess.”

Despite Olive’s revelation that she doesn’t want to choose, she still has trouble communicating openly with her friends and letting them know how she feels. Rather than expressing her sadness at being excluded, she speaks indirectly, qualifying her language and indirectly expressing her sadness through her body language and expression.

“Your mom was so embarrassed for me…or maybe of me.”

Aunt Molly describes the dynamic that played out between Olive’s mom and herself when they were adolescents performing in the talent show. This moment highlights their different approaches, as Olive’s mom valued fitting in and found Aunt Molly’s individualistic approach to be embarrassing. This background information also provides context for the resistance that Olive’s mother has for Olive’s desire to host the show.

“I remember it felt good to get up there and do my own thing and not care what anyone else thought of me.”

This line from Aunt Molly helps Olive to find a new way to interact with her social environment. Rather than see her exclusion as embarrassing, she decides to try Aunt Molly’s approach of being authentic without worrying what people think. Olive looks up to Aunt Molly so much that she realizes that she too can accomplish her goals without being a social outcast.

“Doing research always helps me get unstuck when I have a problem.”

This line from Aunt Molly introduces Olive to a process that helps her to regain her autonomy. Rather than waiting for someone to tell her an activity to do or to invite her into a preexisting group, Olive decides to take control of her own situation and research her own act.

“We have a great show for you. Well, at least I think it’s gonna be great. We’re airing live so I haven’t seen it yet.”

This line comes from one of the television variety show hosts that Olive watches with Aunt Molly. Olive immediately connects to the humor and joy that comes with being a host, and she is excited by the prospect of supporting all of the acts in her own upcoming variety show.

“It’s time again for the Olive Hour…with America’s sweetheart, Olive!”

This line comes from one Olive’s dream sequences. The dream illustrates the protagonist’s new, positive approach to the variety show and emphasizes the authenticity of her decision to host. Unlike other dreams that highlight her turmoil, this dream focuses on an idea that works for her. Additionally, the dream functions as a pragmatic narrative device that allows Kayla Miller to portray Olive’s positive thoughts about this new idea.

“I want to host!”

This moment is another turning point in the graphic novel, when Olive consciously realizes what she wants to do for the variety show. Rather than passively waiting for someone to invite her to join their group, she now has the ability to establish her own role in the variety show. By extension, her role also supports the greater school social environment.

“Someone’s in a better mood today.”

Olive’s mom immediately notices how much Olive’s demeanor has changed after realizing that she wants to host the variety show. This line shows that Olive’s mom is still just as empathetic and intuitive as she was at the beginning, even if she does not know the best way to help Olive through her social issues.

“Not everyone has to follow the beat of their own drum all the time.”

In this moment, Olive’s mom struggles to see beyond her own worldview and acknowledge Olive’s view of the situation. Given the fact that Olive’s mom is more of a conformist than an individualist, this scene demonstrates the true extent of her discomfort with Aunt Molly’s willingness to differ from the social norm, and she worries that Olive will be embarrassed and isolated if she does not join a group.

“I want to host because it looks like fun and I think I’d be good at it. And it would be a way that I could help all of my friends with their acts by introducing them.”

This line shows major growth in Olive’s journey toward maturity. She is now able to explain to her mom exactly what she wants and why, and her explanation demonstrates significant self-awareness about how this choice will affect her socially. Olive also asserts her own autonomy and articulates her ideas openly and directly, relinquishing more passive forms of communication.

“I’ve got it all under control.”

Confident and determined, Olive now feels much more comfortable in telling her mom that she does not need help with her social situation. She has returned to the easygoing, self-assured person that she was at the beginning of the graphic novel, and with her new determination, she is now ready to face the social environment at school.

“You…you don’t want to be in our act?”

In this moment, the tables have turned between Olive and Ava, as Ava now feels rejected by Olive. Just as Olive reverted to more halting and passive communication upon feeling excluded, Ava uses similar speech patterns as she struggles to articulate her ideas clearly and directly. As a result, she forfeits control of the conversation to Olive.

“Cool idea, Olive!”

With the enthusiasm of this statemen from Olive’s friends, Miller shows that despite Olive’s previous feelings of exclusion, she is really surrounded by people who value and support her. Upon declaring her intentions to host, she becomes an ambassador for all of the different cliques and brings everyone closer together. She can see that her friends like and respect her, even if they didn’t ask her to be in their acts.

“If you had asked me sooner, I would have jumped at the chance…but I want to host. I did research and started thinking of jokes. It’s important to me.”

This moment completes Olive’s arc as she tells Ava about the lessons that she has learned. At the beginning, she passively waited for others to invite her to join them, but then she learned to do her own research and discovered a role that fits her really well. Now, she has also learned to communicate her ideas openly and directly, thereby creating stronger connections between her and her friends.