Learning to Fall

Takes place mostly in Oakland, California, and shows a lot of the ethnic, cultural, culinary, and economic diversity found there. Daphne and her mom -- an actor -- spend a lot of their lives couch-surfing with no real home, or struggling to come up with the rent, while her dad's parents live in a comfortable home in the hills and have helped her dad get his own place. Daphne and her family are White, her friend Arlo is Mexican American and speaks Spanish, her dad's friend Gus is also Mexican American and doesn't. The extended skating community includes all ages, genders, skin tones, and ethnicities, with a strong culture of earning, giving, and receiving respect for your skills and hard work. Several adult characters have tattoo art, and both adults and kids often develop a strong personal style.

A lot of emotional violence -- with a kid's sense of abandonment and heartbreak -- took place in the past and weighs on the characters. In one incident, a younger Daphne -- angry at yet another no-show by her dad -- breaks her arm attempting a skating feat well beyond her skill. An adult character was bullied as a child.

Occasional "bull," "sucks."

Daphne's dad is recovering from alcohol dependency; his pre-recovery behavior, especially failing to show up at important moments, is a major factor in their current estrangement. In social settings, some adults drink beer and other alcoholic beverages; kids and sober adults stick with juice, boba tea, fizzy water, etc.