In the book "The Gathering" by Kelley Armstrong, a teenage girl named Maya expresses her excitement about a tattoo artist, showing her youthful curiosity. She engages her mother with playful questions about the artist's attractiveness and her own emerging sexual identity. This moment highlights Maya's open and humorous approach to topics that might be considered taboo among teenagers.

Mom, however, seems weary of Maya's candidness, expressing a desire for her daughter to conform to more traditional teenage behavior. The exchange reflects the generational gap in discussions about sexuality and identity, emphasizing Maya's desire for freedom in exploring her identity while her mother wishes for a more conventional parent-child dynamic.