Point of View

The novel is written from the first person point of view of narrator and protagonist Ally Nickerson. This, combined with the use of present-tense, brings the reader thoroughly into Ally’s story – the reader experiences what she does as it happens to her, gains insight into her thoughts and feelings, and comes to understand her in the same way and for the same reasons as she comes to understand herself. This particular stylistic choice can be seen as an attempt to connect with young people who are perhaps experiencing the same things – specifically, feeling isolated because of feeling different.

This, in turn, relates to another aspect of point of view, that of the author. There is the clear sense that in exploring this particular issue in this particular way, the author is writing from the perspective that no matter how difficult things may seem for...