Themes

This novel explores multiple themes.

The most prevalent of them all is the coming of age. Nico is the main character which undergoes the hardships and insecurities of being an adolescent. She is a typical young adult who embarks on a journey of becoming a mature individual. Nico faces the problems of teenage girls; she discovers who she is, her role and duty in society and family. She encounters the difficulty of becoming an independent girl who must make choices based on her own decisions and rationale. While investigating her inner self, Nico also begins to be "charged by the restless sexual tension of teenage life."

However, as Nico is developing, she is crushed with the loss of her sister. "Goldengrove" explores the theme of grief and hardship. For Nico, it is hard enough being a teenager, but losing the person who is closest to her, drives her to a state where she is forced to either learn how to cope with the pain or lose hope. She grapples with concept of understanding death and life. Nico is driven to learn how to take care of herself and aid in her parents recovery as well.

Predetermined fate is another theme which is explored throughout the novel. Nico, is drawn to science, she likes to have the phenomena occurring around her answered with a specific definition and reasoning. She prefers the "idea" of going to an "authority" for "ruling" to confirm the fallacies of her sister's stories. However, once Nico's sister suddenly dies, she if left fighting for answers and understanding on why this happened to her and her family. "Why us" and "how" could such things happen so unexpectedly. Nico wonders why it had to be her sister, and not someone else. She is left to grasp the concept of fate and the meaning of life.