What is unusual about Rick and Josie's friendship and their plan for their future?

Rick and Josie carry on a quiet but intimate relationship through their drawings. What is unusual about their friendship and their plan for their future, given the social hierarchy for children based on their class and economic privilege?

Rick and Josie seem to be holding on to the “we’ll show them” attitude that their love will carry them through into a future that is meant to separate them. They’ve been friends since they were children, inseparable all the way through Josie’s illness. It’s interesting to see what happens once we reach that singular point in the story, witness what eventually happens to Josie, and see how that changes her relationship with Rick. Perhaps it was inevitable, given their society, the expectations placed on them, and the doors that are open and shut. Alas, true love has its challenges in our own world, too, for any number of reasons.

As sweet as the relationship was, I never imagined them staying together forever. Too many obstacles and differences between them. I chalked it up as puppy love.

I think the friendship was unusual for the time - a lifted person hanging out with someone who wasn't lifted - but with the lens of the present it didn't seem unusual to me at all. I recall that as a kid I was planning to marry the son of one of my mother's friends (I think we were eight years old). He got me a ring & everything. So, I think most of what they experienced was pretty normal.

Rick and Josie were unlike their cohorts in that they kept the affection they had for each other. Both had limited futures (Josie appeared headed for a very early death) so they lived in their own fantasy world. It reminded me of Cathy and Heathcliff as children and their own fantasy.

My initial reaction is one of typical teenage normalcy. Boys not allowed in girls' rooms without a 'chaperone', secret notes and shared plans for a future together. Yet there is always societal conflicts, they come from different sides of the tracks as we say. Josie's family is well-off - Rick's is not, Josie's future schooling is mapped out - Rick's is unknown, Josie is popular, Rick is friendless, Josie pushes - Rick yields.

I wonder if there was a betrothal? Or promises made?

Rick is very protective of Josie and bends to her will, even when practically forced to her party and subject to ridicule.

I was disheartened to find that they parted in the end, seemingly when they went their separate ways for school.

Was Josie using him while she was sick, and when she was all better cast him aside?

I don't think there's anything very unusual about Rick and Josie's relationship. It seemed like puppy love that never really had a chance to grow or change given their limited worlds. It seemed normal to me that as they grew older and were out in the world more that their relationship would splinter. Hopefully it's one that they will always remember fondly.

I think they had forged their plan on high hopes that they would have some sort of a normal life in the future. It was a life rope for each of them in their own way,but realistically their plan was unattainable. However, it kept them going forward, a bond that helped each of them cope with their less-than-perfect circumstances.