That Freak Guy

If Dallas and their family were black instead of white, it would kill like three birds with one stone. Specifically, making their family the black family that “left” town. Dallas’ family was basically chased out already and the black family only exists for like one line, so making them the same family doesn’t really break anything in the plot. It does open the door to explore some of the book’s issues, though. Think about it. It adds another perspective to the book’s views on police brutality (Dallas and their family are ALREADY victims of police brutality in the story, not a lot would have to change there) and it would add focus to the racial history of Appalachia. There’s the book’s theming, too.

It also helps with the fact that Miles is a performative loser. He’s clearly a reflection of AJW in some way, because this is not treated by the story as a character flaw. No, he’s the advocate of the century because he has a shirt that says “John Brown did nothing wrong.” I guess. Having Dallas come back into a well-intentioned Miles’ life and making him realize that he is still acting closed-mindedly and taking steps to improve himself would add a lot more depth to his character.