What are the motifs in Crow Lake by Mary Lawson?

There is a great deal of guilt in this novel. The first appearance of guilt in the novel is Katie's frequent discussions of the odd behaviors of the Pye children. She mentions how things might have turned out differently if someone had talked to them and done something about the abuse heaped on them by their father. Katie seems to feel that she and many of her neighbors in the Crow Lake community bear some responsibility for the death of Laurie Pye.