The irony of role reversal
The first irony of the novel is that Hayley's father is unable to do for his family what he should do because he has sacrificed himself in Iraq, and has been emotionally crippled by PTSD. That means that Hayley is in charge, which is ironic and sad, because the whole purpose of childhood is to learn through experience how to be an adult, but for Hayley, childhood is hell, because she is forced to take care of her father without being able to do that (because he was the person responsible for giving her those skills through time).
Hayley's suffering
Through dramatic irony, Hayley's psychological relationship to suffering is shown to the audience. At first the novel depicts her as unruly. She is not unruly; she is chronically forced to be responsible for her father without adult resources or adult emotions (she has had to take care of him since she was too young, at the expense of her own health). She is not hateful; she is trapped in emotional states of agony and despair that no one can see (dramatic irony).
Finn's ironic insight
Finn allows Hayley to see something that she doesn't understand alone—that students are not evil, stupid followers. She feels that way about them until Finn shows up to offer her some forgiveness, some friendship, and a chance to learn from him for her own good. He allows her a chance to do in high school what she was doing in the street: adapting. She gets to adapt to the new environment, and in the process, she gains insight into the brokenness of her own point of view.
The father's suicidal decision
The father struggles to believe in himself because he holds grudges against himself for the way that PTSD led him to become what he considers to be a failure. He has issues that are concealed from others (through dramatic irony) that he escapes through drug usage. Then, when Trish comes back into their lives, Hayley becomes unhappy, and the father's self-incrimination leads him to such a drastic self hatred that he tries to kill himself. Instead of the father sending Hayley boldly into life, Hayley has to convince him to stay living.
Trish, the ironic 'mother'
Trish is allegedly a mother to Hayley, at least that's what she says she is. But Hayley doesn't trust her as far as she can throw her. She is ironic in several ways. In Hayley's defense, her step-mother is stupid and she is clever. Yet, her step-mother is not so stupid that she can't manipulate Hayley's father. They are ironically poised in competition with one another over the role of head of household, because whoever controls the father controls the home, and lastly, she is ironic because Trish is chaotic and selfish instead of being nurturing and supportive.
