Hyper-Empathy

 Lauren suffers from hyper-empathy, due to her mother being a drug addict. We see the effects of this condition throughout the book, and I felt fascinated by how Lauren deals with her emotions in a catastrophic world. The mixture of hyper-empathy and a dystopian world is a confusing one though. She can use her strengths to care for others and found a religion, all the while feeling the pain of those around her. I can’t imagine how difficult that would be. Even worse, she goes through the tragedy in Robledo.