Point of View

The author uses a first person perspective in the novel, switching between Rill and Avery. Avery's perspective is told from present-day Aiken, South Carolina, while Rill's perspective is told from Memphis, Tennessee in 1939. The chapters that are told from Avery's point of view illuminate her thought process as she unveils her Grandma Judy's secret about her past. While discovering more and more about her grandmother and her family, she simultaneously learns about herself. The first person perspective allows the reader to witness her revelations about herself and her own life. Once destined to follow in her footsteps as a senator, learning the truth about her grandmother's life, she decides to take control of her own destiny at the end of the novel.

The chapters that are told from Rill's perspective highlight the tumultuous past of a 12 year old girl born into poverty. The author uses...