[spoiler]The second book is decent, a reflection (pun semi-intended), on the nature of reality and what defines a person. But the first book shows a child being forced to go through a painful journey to grow, so she can leave her new friends and run back to the people who showed her neglect, happy to return like victims of abuse and neglect often are... And Tulip forgives her parents because they ultimately decide to fulfill the obligation they carelessly neglected to begin with.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Tulip's anger is deserved. It should be validated. Tulip has every right to be angry, yet she's the only one who has to go on a journey of change to become complacent in the life she had with parents who are mostly shown in her memories to put her in the middle of their petty squabbles and neglect her. All because of what? Parents 'inherently loving' their child. A lie so many children are forced to swallow and live with for most of their formative years...[/spoiler]

Ultimately, I like the premise, but this is one more washed out portrayal of a child of divorce that pushes the idea that the child is expected to learn to accept their own reality, rather than to seek a way to find a new and better life.