The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

Robyn is a new member of Adam’s support group. She recently completed the residential program at Rogers Memorial Hospital and is a junior in high school, a year ahead of Adam. Adam is immediately in love with her the second he sees her. He believes that Robyn is directly tied to his goals of achieving normalcy and happiness, and that he must save her from her troubles. Robyn is somewhat aware of Adam’s feelings, which becomes apparent when she tells him, “You Ross men seem to like your women complicated” (69), show that she knows he has a crush on her. As their relationship evolves into something more romantic, Adam and Robyn learn about the joys and the complications of falling in love for the first time, particularly when recovering from mental illness. Robyn’s more rapid pace of recovery helps Adam see that he doesn’t need to save her, for she’s already strong on her own. This leads to the revelation that Adam’s continued presence in Robyn’s life might do more harm than good. In this way, their relationship embodies the idea that sometimes loving someone means letting them go.

Adam’s mom Carmella works as a nurse supervisor. She’s been struggling ever since her divorce from Adam’s dad. She takes to hoarding things and collecting random objects to the point that their house is almost uninhabitable. Carmella is aware that this environment is unsafe for her son, evidenced by her promises to organize the house and the contents of the threatening letters that she sends to herself. However, caught in a mental health crisis, she’s unable to make the meaningful change necessary to improve their lives on her own. When Carmella implores Adam to keep the letters secret, this escalates his OCD symptoms, but Adam feels he would be betraying his mother if he talked about her hoarding, the letters, or any of her issues.

Carmella loves Adam very much, but she tends to cling to him and make him feel guilty for spending time with his dad, stepmom, and stepbrother. The letters are a tactic to ensure Adam stays with her, as she uses them to manipulate him into silence. As a result, Adam feels torn. He says, “Each time he left for them, he felt he was abandoning her” (222). He is constantly having to balance between staying loyal to his mother while trying to support everyone else he loves and take care of himself. As Adam matures and moves closer toward recovery, he realizes that keeping his mom’s secrets is only making everything worse. Like with Robyn, he comes to understand that he can’t save his mom on his own; he must let go of his guilt and his sense of responsibility to ensure she gets the help she needs.

Brenda is Adam’s father’s new wife, Sweetie’s mother, and Adam’s stepmom. Adam comments that Brenda is almost the complete opposite of his mother Carmella. Brenda is blond, pristine, and polite. It is clear that Brenda loves Adam very much and wants the best for him. Sweetie tells Adam that he overheard Brenda saying, “He really should be here with us, Sebastian. The boy is not safe in that firetrap” (79). While seemingly passive aggressive, Brenda truly cares for Adam and is always willing to drive him to school, buy him new clothes, and support him when he needs her.