Chasing the Falconers

Family loyalty lies at the heart of Chasing the Falconers. It is a tale of two children willing to risk everything out of a fierce loyalty to their parents. This loyalty defines their characters, directs their actions, and reveals the strength of family bonds. The Falconer children first appear in the On the Run series as two children who have lost everything. Their parents are behind bars, no family will take them in, and their names have been tarnished. Despite this, the power of loyalty keeps Aiden and Meg from turning on their infamous parents.

The Falconer children have become wards of the state, abandoned by living relatives. Aiden explains, “The Falconer kids were at Sunnydale because none of their relatives would take them in” (5). They are outcasts from their own tribe because of their parents’ convictions. Meg and Aiden also lose their names and are assigned a pseudonym when they are sent to juvenile detention in Nebraska: “After the media circus of their parents’ trial, Falconer might as well have been Dracula for a last name” (5). Despite the sensational arrest and media frenzy surrounding the trial and conviction of their parents, Meg has undying loyalty to her parents. Without hesitation, she explains her goal: “Our parents were framed, and we’re going to prove it!” (106). At moments of conflict or difficulty, Meg focuses on unifying her brother to her singular cause: “Our parents are in jail because we can’t get our act together to get them out!” (42). She understands that as the children of wrongly accused inmates, they are uniquely invested in and capable of proving their parents’ innocence: “We’re the only ones who can prove our parents are innocent, and you know it!” (7). Her self-assurance and confidence in her parents’ innocence drives her to convince Aiden to escape Sunnydale. “This is what we’ve been praying for—a chance to get out of here, to help Mom and Dad!” (29), she says.

Aiden, slightly older at 15, isn’t as certain: “What if he and Meg set out to exonerate their parents, only to discover that they had been guilty all along?” (7). As Meg attempts to convince him to run away, Aiden responds selfishly: “Don’t you think we’re in enough trouble already?” (28). Unlike Meg, Aiden begins the novel unconvinced of his parents’ innocence and unwilling to risk himself or his future in the pursuit of justice. Likewise, he understands the degree to which they are already affiliated with their parents’ crimes. When they are attacked, Aiden understands why instantly: “The whole country hates our parents, I guess it was only a matter of time before somebody tried to take it out on us” (151). By the conclusion of the novel, however, Meg’s unwavering familial loyalty and fiercely determined focus have convinced Aiden that his flashes of doubt, although logical, are unwarranted. He thinks, “As long as there was a place to start, a lead to follow, a stone left unturned in the quest to prove their parents’ innocence, then there was hope” (154).

Just as important as their loyalty to their parents is Meg and Aiden’s loyalty to each other. As much as they annoy each other as siblings, they are utterly committed to each other, refusing to leave the other behind at key moments. Most dramatically, Meg nearly causes Miguel to crash a stolen SUV in order to ensure that they don’t abandon Aiden at the service area. She prevents Miguel from driving the Tahoe back onto the highway by pressing her hands over his eyes and holding on. Here, her quick thinking is bolstered by her attachment to her brother—an attachment so strong that it overrides any fear she has of Miguel’s temper and that shows she’s willing to risk her and Miguel’s life: “Shaken and terrified, Meg glared right back into the teeth of his rage. ‘I’ll crash the two of us, don’t think I won’t! I’m not leaving my brother!’” (102). Meg’s courageous, if foolhardy, expression of family loyalty offers a sharp contrast with the reception that Miguel receives at his brother’s house. Freddy’s home, with its giant television screen, has long been the goal of Miguel’s escape and the source of many of his bragging rights. However, in contrast to the Falconers, whose bond seems unassailable, Freddy reacts to Miguel’s presence with anger and fear; he no longer considers his brother to be part of his family worth protecting. All three main characters register this rejection in different ways. Miguel seems broken by the cruelty, revealing a vulnerability that the Falconers did not think he possessed. Meg takes on a quieter role, leading Miguel out to the car. Aiden, however, finds himself uncharacteristically emboldened by rage: He yells at Freddy for his failure to help his brother as they leave. More importantly, however, Miguel’s dejection moves the Falconers to demonstrate greater empathy for him than they have until this point, and Aiden makes sure to communicate that he is not entirely alone in the world.