What does Laura's death signify and why was it important?

In Part II, Hernandez takes us through the climax of the text, which is the fire in the apartment building on Christmas Eve that kills Laura and Cory. She refrains from anything prurient, so we do not have to endure the characters’ suffering or let our eyes linger over passages about their dead bodies. Rather, Hernandez explores the impact of the deaths of these people, particularly Laura, on the community of Scarborough. Laura, whom those in power might deem inconsequential—after all, in their minds, she is just a poor, neglected child from the “bad” part of town whose future, no doubt, will be a struggle—is deeply mourned and missed by her peers and Ms. Hina (and the sweet Ivana, who had become used to exchanging waves with the girl). Her life mattered, Hernandez suggests, and her death is a tragedy.