Point of View

Author Perkins has attempted to place herself into the hearts and minds of young teenagers, struggling, as they have for centuries, with the questions of their identities, their futures, and their values. She functions as a narrator with complete omniscience with at least two characters - Debbie and Hector - perhaps the two who exhibit the most maturity for their ages. Debbie, while focusing upon an upcoming summer, wants something good to happen, and that something good appears to be related to romance. As she moves through her summer and actually has a romantic connection, however, she is forced into contemplation of more important things, such as the growth of the role of women from the days of Wuthering Heights, to her mother and now, ultimately to herself. Further, the one major "heart-throb" of the tale, Dan Persik, falls woefully short in Debbie's estimation, for he...