Abuse is the overriding theme of the novel, both self-directed and the physical and emotional abuse from others. And it comes in many guises—direct physical contact, threats with intimidation, and abandonment. The novel opens with Caitlin, as a narrator with the gift of hindsight, announcing to the reader that her older sister, Cass, left home without telling anyone three weeks before she was to begin her freshman year at Yale University. Her sudden departure creates a blank in the family portrait that Caitlin's parents cannot handle. They direct all of their attention toward the issue of Cass's abandonment of the family and away from Caitlin, leaving her essentially without parental guidance. Caitlin begins to fill the void with whatever attention is directed at her. That attention comes in the form of Rogerson Biscoe and the friends.....
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