Point of View

The novel is written in the present tense and is told almost entirely from Fabiola's first-person point of view. The novel accomplishes a number of narrative functions through this choice of perspective. Firstly, it allows the reader to discover things about Fabiola's new life at the same time that Fabiola does. For example, the reader does not find out that Fabiola's cousins are drug dealers until Fabiola herself discovers that information. This connection between the reader's perspective and Fabiola's perspective helps to better simulate Fabiola's real-time thoughts, emotions, and discoveries for the reader.

The filter of Fabiola's perspective also helps to emphasize the interactions and interventions between Fabiola's past and her new life. One of the ways in which Fabiola adapts to her new life is by viewing it through the lens of Haitian beliefs, customs, and morals. She interprets people around her in terms...