The cheating girlfriend
The best symbol for Ezra's battle with disappointment is the fateful revelation of his girlfriend in the act of cheating on him. That disappointment defines his emotional journey because the girlfriend was the greatest emotional object of his desires. That raises interesting ideas about his imagination and empathy; is he just wanting her as a trophy of his own prowess? The fate he is given is one that removes this hubris from him, making the girlfriend an anima-type or a femme fatale. The femme fatale motif is completed by the proximity of death and injury.
The accident
The accident leaves Ezra and Cassidy's brother (we eventually learn it was her brother who drunkly hit Ezra at the party) as foils of fate. One person's fate is death, and the other's fate is life as a disabled person. Ezra loses the physical abilities that define him in his community; he is the tennis captain after all with a real shot of playing tennis seriously as an adult. When that is taken away, he experiences a paradoxical agony; he hates that his abilities have changed, but he is spared from death—the other driver is not.
Luke as a symbol
Luke symbolizes the cruelty of human criticism and malice. Instead of supporting his friend, Luke takes an opportunity to rub Ezra's face in his fate, making fun of him and calling him a "cripple." Ezra is redeemed in the course of the novel, but in order to fully appreciate the importance of this moment in the lives of those who are disabled, the reader must voluntarily empathize with Ezra. What would it be like to be humiliated about the one thing that matters most to a person? This clearly symbolizes Ezra's own emotional journey. Before judging Luke, it is important to remember that Ezra also has these feelings within himself.
The poodle
Ezra's poodle saves him from a coyote as a symbol that passion and love are stronger than expected. The poodle in its age reminds Ezra of his own limited abilities, and although the poodle takes a bite full of teeth to his neck, he lives—just like Ezra lives in the accident. The coyote realizes that this fight is a fight against love and loyalty, and he walks away to harrass weaker prey. That symbolizes Ezra's discovery of his own potential. Is his power only physical? Certainly not. As a character, he helps illustrate where a person's true potential comes from.
The one who got away
Cassidy is a symbolic character who teaches Ezra a lesson through romantic love which is too intimate and private for Ezra to learn otherwise. What Ezra loves most about Cassidy is what Ezra learned about himself through Cassidy's love, but that love is held in tandem with the horror of death; she cannot be with Ezra since his injuries are a real reminder of her brother's tragic death. However, she leaves him in love, supporting him and reminding him of the allegorical theme of this story—that Ezra is strong in all the ways that matter in life. She gives him her full approval and encourages him to use that approval to establish his own self-esteem.
