YMMV / The Obituary Writer

• Anvilicious: Understandably, gets unsubtle about the need to move on after a great tragedy, such as the death of a loved one. But considering how easy it would be to cross the Despair Event Horizon and lose what's left of one's life, it's a fair point to make.
  Vivian: I wasted thirteen years hoping he was alive somewhere. Thirteen years holding onto a dream.
  Claire: But shouldn’t we hold onto our dreams?
  Vivian: Not when they keep us from moving forward.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Peter’s disparaging comments about Claire’s pregnancy and become quite painful not only when the baby is killed, but also when it’s revealed that it was indeed Peter’s and not Miles’.
• Heartwarming Moments: Vivien helping people find solace over their loved ones’ deaths with her obituaries, which focus on what made them unique and beloved, is pretty heartwarming in itself.
  • While it’s one of the novel’s several Tearjerker moments, the final conversation between Vivien and Claire, where she encourages the latter to not waste her “one beautiful life”, manages to be this.
• Nightmare Fuel: The novel begins with the abduction and murder of a child. Which only begins the story’s depressing exploration of Adult Fear.
  • Claire’s sledding accident is full of this. She crashes into a tree, cracks her head, and is quickly ushered to the hospital. In a drug-induced haze, she’s left to wonder about the fate of her baby. And unfortunately, her baby, who turns out to be Peter’s, after all, perishes. All because of a tragically impulsive decision.
• Paranoia Fuel: In-verse, Dougie’s kidnapping and murder is signified as the moment when everyone in Claire’s neighborhood realized they were not as safe as they thought they were.