History Literature / Tangerine1997

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Erik gets a black eye at the dedication ceremony, courtesy of Victor and his friends [[spoiler:avenging Luis]]. It's the only time someone lands a hit of him, and he's ashamed to admit what happened.

* DisasterDominoes: The efforts of the Lake Windsor Downs Homeowner's Association to make their neighborhood look nice hilariously just lead to more problems. They attempt to make their lake look nice by adding koi fish... forgetting that Florida is home to birds of prey who happily go after the large, easy-to-see

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Paul's friends at Tangerine are initially a bit rough around the edges (which eventually leads to Joey leaving the school), but ultimately become good friends with Paul.

* ParentalFavouritism: Mr. Fisher blatantly favors Erik over Paul, due to his status as a high school football star, though he does seem overprotective of Paul at times and is not extremely unloving towards him. [[spoiler: It bites him in the ass very badly at the ending.]] Mrs. Fisher, thankfully, is kinder to both her sons despite covering up what Erik did to him when he was younger, she is close to her younger son and worries about him constantly even to the point of annoyance.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: It's not so blatantly stated, but Paul observes that his parents and the Bauers literally buy Erik and Arthur a second chance after they get caught burglarizing the homes being fumigated for termites-- they convince the homeowners not to press charges because they can get their expensive belongings released to them and guarantee cash repayment for anything that hasn't been recovered, and not-so-subtly point out that if this goes through the legal system, the police will keep everything that was stolen as evidence. One of the homeowners calls this out as blackmail, and delivers a pretty strong rebuke to the Fishers and Bauers, but Erik and Arthur spend the whole meeting sulking while their mommies and daddies ensure they will face no consequences. It's also implied that their comparative wealth to Luis Cruz is what causes them to think they can get away with attacking him-- when he dies of his injuries, Arthur's father defends them by saying he was a nobody who didn't belong at their privileged high school.

[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Unrelated to]] the 2015 ''Film/{{Tangerine}}''. Or a 2013 Estonian film ''Film/{{Tangerines}}''.

''Tangerine'' is a 1997 [[YoungAdultLiterature young adult]] novel by Edward Bloor. His first published novel; it won several awards and has become a widely used [[UsefulNotes/SchoolStudyMedia book for assigned reading in schools]].

* CallingTheOldManOut: Paul eventually confronts his parents about his brother's role in [[spoiler: blinding him.]] They rationalize hiding it as "keeping him from hating his brother". Paul simply asks if it was better for him to keep hating himself. His parents give him no response to that, and while they have loved him throughout the years, clearly, his father mostly breaks down like a baby. His mother cried too throughout the conversation, but she has shown her son more love than his father has, and most probably always had better intentions.

* MyBelovedSmother / OverprotectiveDad: Paul's parents spoil his older brother Erik rotten and are dismissive of the terrible things he does (though they do know what he did to his younger brother earlier on), but they do coddle their other son. Paul's mother babies him much more than his father does, though his father does in a few instances, whether they feel guilt or are just self-pitying is up to interpretation, but they do show genuine love towards him. In the story, Paul stays at home for days resting in bed and though he does not cough or sneeze, his mother worries to death that he is quite sick and demands him to stay home, and this goes on for six days! The day after Thanksgiving, Paul goes outside, something minor happens, and his father carries him back in, though his father does criticize him, both he and his wife check on Paul CONSTANTLY during the day, imagine your parents doing that, and if you were actually sick.

* DysfunctionalFamily: The Fishers. Erik is a total dick and likely [[TheSociopath sociopath]], Mrs. Fisher is [[NervousWreck neurotic as hell]], completely [[ParentalObliviousness oblivious]] to Erik's bad traits, and pities her other son and babies him as if he cannot even see, Mr. Fisher [[ParentalFavouritism ignores]] Paul in favour of Erik and yet ''still'' manages to not see his bad traits, and Paul wears [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking coke-bottle glasses, he even boasts at the end about being such a "bad guy."]] The Bauers are mostly one as well.]]

* ParentalFavouritism: Mr. Fisher blatantly favors Erik over Paul, due to his status as a high school football star. [[spoiler: It bites him in the ass very badly at the ending.]] Mrs. Fisher, thankfully, is kinder to both her sons despite covering up what Erik did to him when he was younger, she is close to her younger son and worries about him constantly even to the point of annoyance.

* BigBrotherBully: Erik is a ''very'' nasty example.

* TakingTheHeat: Victor tries to do this when [[spoiler:Paul is being expelled for tackling a coach at Mike Costello's dedication ceremony]]. The principal doesn't buy it and tells him to move along.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Paul eventually develops this relationship with his Tangerine Middle School classmates.

''Tangerine'' is a 1997 [[YoungAdultLiterature young adult]] novel by Edward Bloor. His first published novel; it won several awards and has become a widely used [[SchoolStudyMedia book for assigned reading in schools]].

* KarmaHoudini: Prior to the death of Luis Cruz, Erik Fisher had never experienced a single consequence of any action he ever took. When he terrorized and injured his younger brother's eyes, his parents actively covered it up and Paul mentions several incidents where his parents gently reminded him that his bad eyesight means he can't trust his beliefs that Erik is trying to hurt him-- bad eyesight that he only has ''because Erik hurt him.'' When Erik turns out to be a seriously gifted football player, on top of being the handsome oldest son, this gets to be even more extreme, as his parents pour everything they have into ensuring he has a successful football career, even moving halfway across the country to a developing area where Erik will be the big fish in the small pond and more able to attract more prestigious college scholarships. Paul constantly derides the "Erik Fisher Football Dream" that runs their lives in his narration, and his parents continue the pattern of making excuses for him even after Erik's grades start slipping, ignoring him hitting his little brother's friends, and getting caught stealing expensive jewelry and valuables from their neighbors, going so far as to pay off people whose items can't be recovered and begging them not to press charges against Erik. Ironically, Mr. Bauer, the father of Erik's flunky, insists that having his parents pay for his crimes, beg not to have charges brought, and sulking silently while his parents explain all this is "making up for it" like a man. Murder is quite literally the ''only'' thing Erik can't get away with.