Point of View

The point of view of the collection shifts from story to story. The lens through which the world is viewed is through that of women experiencing some type of coming of age moment. The stories in the collection which do not follow this pattern are “The Lesson,” in which a male gay couple is at the heart of the story, and “Valley of the Girls,” which is narrated by a young man.

There are nine standalone stories in the collection. Feminine perspectives are at the forefront, largely from young women and girls. Teenage girls, such as Fran, Billie, and Immy are all trying to find their place in the world and escape. The older women in the story, who are still quite young, are also interested in escape, such as Lindsey.

The majority of the collection is in third person. “The Summer People” is in...