1. The Bones mean two things to Melinda: • The pain of rejection. "I'm an outcast." Melinda faces the fact that she has often been overlooked in the story by her classmates, including her former friends and her parents, even though she doesn't show it; she cares deeply about the issue. And just like the turkey, Melinda was thrown away and humiliated by her friends without a second thought, similar to her parents' carelessness towards the turkey who wasted it and threw it in the trash. • A destroyed family. "Thanksgiving dinner, says we'll be a family for another year." The bones also represent his parents' failed attempt to act as a family. He was there because of a disagreement that couldn't be resolved because both of his parents refused to compromise. It may have been their lack of communication or the fact that they couldn't have a normal conversation without yelling at each other, causing one of them to leave. It is blatantly obvious that Melinda does not have a good relationship with her parents nor does her family have a solid foundation to stand on. “We communicate with notes...