Doug’s father left him and his mother when they were young. Recently though he returns with what is called “a do-over family” and “family 2.0” (a stepmother and stepbrother). Huey tells Doug that even though his dad left them, since he sent birthday cards and gave his mom a monthly check that he was “here in spirit”. There is also a strange amount of discussion that focuses on relationships outside of the traditional biblical family. Stepmoms, stepdads, separation… even “second stepdad”, “all my parents”, “my dad and my second stepmom”. This all contributes to a feeling of this being the normal instead of a sad part of this fallen world. For example a parent says, “I talked with Henry’s mother… She and his dad and his stepparents need some time alone”.This comes up more than you would expect. Again, later we read, “Do you know how weird it is to have your first mom and first dad talk about getting back together when they’ve already married other people – twice?”.
The main character Doug has times when his behavior leaves a lot to be desired. He is often dishonest, such as when he answers a question with a lie simply to avoid further questioning. Later he thinks his mom is “trying to decide how much to tell him” to which he thinks “I know the feeling”. The young reader see Doug thinking “Truth: Nooo. What I say is: Yes”. At one point he comments, “I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that” and again later he says, “they have to find five empty seats that aren’t too close to other kids they think are terrible. That’s way harder than it sounds”. Doug cheats for his brother, and while this is shown as wrong, it gets really bad at one point when he uses AI to write the paper and says that he isn’t technically the one cheating, even calling it a “grey area”. He also has a bad relationship with this brother for the majority of the book leading to a lot of fighting and bickering, and to make it worse Doug refers to this as “step-brother hate”
Other items to consider:
Doug’s dad’s music is said to be full of “the n-word”.
A character says, “My whole pathetic life turned around”. A joke includes a bear “ripping your arms off and eating your head”.
There is an irreverent reference to “inventor’s heaven”.
A conceited athlete says “Instagram stays schools a waste because I’m a natural at football”
A boy side character is described as a ballet prodigy. His ballet moves are described several times.
Climate Change is listed as one of Earth’s problems. Global warming is also referenced in passing.
Doug’s mom does meditation and “chanting affirmations”
A team name includes ‘demons’
A character is borderline obsessed with reading and writing sci-fi and this is shown in a pretty positive light.
A reference to a number being lucky.
A deceased mother is said to be “always watching me from somewhere”.
Doug’s stepmom gets mad at his father, to which he replies, “I have a feeling you’re not the only one who’s going on punishment, little man”.
The following terms are used: enginerds, farts, stupid, sucks, puked, vampire hunter, farts, oh my gawd, squirts and diarrhea, holy cow, oh my God, stupid dumb, suck, fiendish delight (as a positive).
The following references are made: Lord of the Flies, Law and Order, Captain America, Black Panther, Thor, Star Trek, santa claus, Rick Riordian’s Kane Chronicles, Game of Thrones