Wow, that was a lot. I really didn't like that ending, but I also see how we got there. The parents in this book (especially the mother) feel so incompetent and just absolutely failed this kid. The way the mom was opposed to literally EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE the entire time while being the primary source of the problem was so irritating.

I feel like the book is trying really hard to say something thematically, but I'm not sure if it's successful or not. The only consistent overall impression I got was that Bela is both too young to be dealing with this on her own, and also the only one who seems able to deal with it. Early on I was praying she would tell someone and get help, but sadly it turned out that her fears about telling someone turned out to be justified; all it did was make things infinitely worse and push her towards the very thing she was afraid of. And I guess that may be exactly the point. Sadly a lot of kids are forced to deal with life in ways they were never meant to, and the adults in their life fail them too. I wish at the end Bela was able to stand her ground and overcome the threat, that it didn't end the way it did, but what choice was she really left with? What can any kid do in the face of an unsafe situation, where they don't have any power, anywhere to run, and everyone in their life has let them down and failed to protect them? Especially when the threat is so good at putting on the face of a friend? It just really sucks that this is how it had to end up.