Carla Character Analysis in Everything, Everything

Maddy’s beloved nurse; Carla’s job is to spend eight hours per day monitoring Maddy’s vital signs. Carla has a 17-year-old daughter named Rosa, whom she dotes on and loves dearly. She’s been caring for Maddy since Maddy was a toddler and over the years, Carla and Maddy have developed a genuinely close, caring, and trusting relationship. Unlike Mom, Carla recognizes that it’s normal for a teen Maddy’s age to be interested in boys and in the world around her, and she’s adamant that love and loss are a part of life and aren’t deadly. Because of this, she allows Maddy and Olly to see each other in person. Though she makes it very clear that they’re not allowed to touch each other, she also doesn’t supervise them or enforce this rule. When Mom discovers Carla’s leniency, she fires Carla and insists to Maddy that Carla was supposed to keep Maddy safe from everything, both health-wise and in terms of heartache. Due to their close relationship, Maddy insists on visiting Carla before she and Olly go to Hawaii. Carla understands that Maddy is lying about having pills from Canada, but she offers Maddy a way to think through her choice when she tells Maddy about her own decision to leave Mexico as a young woman. It simultaneously gave her the much better life she lives now, while also cutting her off from her family and her heritage in a way that pains her. She suggests that regretting is a part of living. After Maddy returns home and recovers from the serious illness she comes down with in Hawaii, Carla returns to care for her. When Maddy discovers that her SCID diagnosis may be incorrect, Carla is instrumental in helping Maddy find a doctor, undergo testing, and uncover the truth. Carla ultimately leaves Maddy to find another job, as she recognizes that Maddy doesn’t need her anymore.

Carla Quotes in Everything, Everything

The Everything, Everything quotes below are all either spoken by Carla or refer to Carla. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Can I have my Internet privileges back?” I have to try.

She shakes her head. “Ask me for something else, honey.”

“Please, Mom.”

“It’s better this way. I don’t want you to have a broken heart.”

“Love can’t kill me,” I say, parroting Carla’s words.

“That’s not true,” she says. “Whoever told you that?”

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier (speaker), Olly, Carla

Page Number and Citation: 149

Explanation and Analysis:

“Of course I regret it. A lot of bad things happened on that trip. And when my mother and father died, I couldn’t go back for the funerals. Rosa doesn’t know anything about where she’s from.” She sighs. “You’re not living if you’re not regretting.”

What am I going to regret? My mind cycles through visions: my mom alone in my white room wondering where everyone she’s ever loved went. My mom alone in a green field staring down at my grave and my dad’s grave and my brother’s grave. My mom dying all alone in that house.

Related Characters: Madeline “Maddy” Whittier (speaker), Carla (speaker), Mom/Dr. Pauline Whittier, Rosa, Maddy’s Dad, Maddy’s Brother

Related Symbols: The Color White, Colors (Pink, Yellow, Orange)

Page Number and Citation: 186

Explanation and Analysis:

Carla Character Timeline in Everything, Everything

The timeline below shows where the character Carla appears in Everything, Everything. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...name in it. She’s not sure why she does this, as Mom never reads and Carla, her nurse, spends her time watching Maddy breathe. No one visits either. Regardless, Maddy then... (full context)

...that they play it. Maddy explains that it’s her birthday, which means that Mom gave Carla the day off so Mom can spend the whole day with Maddy. Mom listens to... (full context)

Maddy is reading on her white couch when Carla arrives the next morning and wishes her happy birthday in Spanish. Carla knows exactly how... (full context)

...a minute, Maddy hears a woman say that they’ve made it to their new home. Carla stares at Maddy and Maddy thinks it’s happening again. She includes a diary entry from... (full context)

Maddy assures Carla that this won’t be like last time and sweeps the curtains aside. The California sun... (full context)

...a weekly special occasion in her house with French food. It’s so special that even Carla eats with Maddy and Mom. Mom always makes cassoulet, a French stew and Maddy’s dad’s... (full context)

...The doorbell rings, an unusual occurrence. Mom goes to get it and instructs Maddy and Carla to stay put. Maddy, however, assures Carla that Mom won’t let anyone pass the air... (full context)

A week later, Carla asks how long Maddy is going to mope. Maddy denies that she’s moping, but she... (full context)

Firmly, Carla says that Maddy is going to be fine. She was sure when she started caring... (full context)

...class. She designed an outdoor shopping/dining center in her favorite style, which is art deco. Carla calls that Mr. Waterman, Maddy’s tutor, is here. This is only the third time Maddy... (full context)

Carla smiles knowingly at Maddy and sings “Take a Chance on Me” by ABBA under her... (full context)

Maddy begs Carla again to let Olly visit, but Carla says flatly that they can’t always get what... (full context)

Two days later, Carla sternly tells Maddy that she can’t touch Olly. Maddy asks if Olly is really already... (full context)

...wants to go to outer space. She says she wants to see the world, but Carla enters and shrewdly asks if they touched. Olly stares at Maddy, making her blush, and... (full context)

Maddy firmly believes that she’s sick the next morning, but Carla checks her vital signs and insists that Maddy is just lovesick. Maddy insists she can’t... (full context)

...hides it. Maddy spends Saturday on calculus, which she hates and isn’t good at. When Carla asks, Maddy refuses to say anything about Olly. By Sunday, Maddy feels that her inbox... (full context)

...insists it doesn’t bother her, but she refreshes her email multiple times per second as Carla walks in. Carla asks if Maddy found another dead cat video, but Maddy admits that... (full context)

Carla makes Maddy and Olly wait a week before seeing each other so that they can... (full context)

At the end of the week, Maddy tries to not be too giddy. Carla watches Maddy try to choose what to wear, which isn’t something Maddy has ever though... (full context)

As Maddy watches Mission: Impossible, Carla says that Mom wants to know if Carla has noticed anything different about Maddy. Maddy... (full context)

Carla gets up to leave and Maddy asks if love really won’t kill her. Carla says... (full context)

...He asks what Maddy sees, but she can’t speak. They hold hands until they hear Carla coming. Maddy feels as though she’s being “unmade.” She tells the reader that the upper... (full context)

...wait a few days before they see each other again. Maddy knows she should tell Carla about touching Olly, but she’s afraid that Carla won’t let Olly visit. She thinks that... (full context)

That evening, Maddy tells Olly that she canceled movie night with Mom. Carla will be upset. Olly says that he’s messing up Maddy’s life and that they did... (full context)

Maddy wakes up to yelling in her house. Mom berates Carla for letting a stranger into the house and refuses to let Maddy defend Carla. Mom... (full context)

When Maddy says that Carla was her friend, Mom angrily spits that it was Carla’s responsibility to keep Maddy safe,... (full context)

...insists on being called Nurse Janet, and Maddy fixates on the fact that she’s not Carla. By the afternoon Maddy decides to adjust her attitude, but then she finds a sticky... (full context)

...another note saying that life is a gift and shouldn’t be wasted. Maddy remembers that Carla said the same thing. She wonders if she’s wasting her life. (full context)

Carla screams, pulls Maddy into a crushing hug, and asks if she’s a ghost. Maddy apologizes... (full context)

Carla makes chilaquiles, but Maddy is too nervous to eat much. Olly asks if Carla thinks... (full context)

...names on monogrammed surfboard key chains and picks out a calendar of shirtless surfers for Carla. Olly shares what he got for Kara and for Olly’s mom, and Maddy says she’s... (full context)

...Mom getting thinner and thinner. Olly’s emails eventually stop. One night, Mom says she’s asked Carla to come back. She explains that she trusts Maddy, since Maddy learned her lesson the... (full context)

Carla bustles in like nothing changed the next day. She pulls Maddy into a hug and... (full context)

...a routine until one day, Maddy hears a rumble and a beeping. At the window, Carla says that a moving truck has pulled in next door. The two men talk to... (full context)

...that she doesn’t, can’t, and won’t believe. The next morning, she thrusts the email at Carla as soon as Carla arrives. Carla studies the test results, and rather than dismiss them,... (full context)

...knows that she just needs to fall asleep, but she thinks again and again of Carla saying that Mom is unwell. It’s one a.m. Carla will return in seven hours, and... (full context)

...to find Maddy. Maddy loudly asks if she’s actually sick with SCID. She shares that Carla suspects Mom is unwell and demands to see the records of a diagnosis. Mom takes... (full context)

...Maddy after losing Maddy’s dad and brother. When she bursts into tears, Maddy thinks that Carla was right. Mom sobs that Maddy got so sick after they died, and she couldn’t... (full context)

...but she doesn’t know what. Maddy refuses to talk to her. On the fourth morning, Carla and Maddy have an appointment to see Dr. Chase, a SCID specialist. Maddy asks Carla... (full context)

...and cautions Maddy that Mom might never be able to talk to her about it. Carla, meanwhile, tries to convince Maddy to stay with Mom, both for Maddy’s physical health and... (full context)

...Dr. Chase tells Maddy it’s too soon to enroll in high school, but Maddy and Carla persuade him to let some of Maddy’s tutors visit in person. (full context)

A week later, Maddy hugs Mr. Waterman as he leaves and then sits outside with Carla. Maddy knows what’s coming and asks Carla to not leave her. Carla says she’ll stay... (full context)