Point of View

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy is recounted from the thirteen-year-old Cookie's point of view. She tells the story in first person, present tense narration, with the goal of setting the story straight: when Sister goes crazy, all the adults in her life pretend everything is fine. They stop talking - to her and to each other - because they cannot deal with the truth: Sister is sick, so Cookie begins compiling the truth in her notebook, as if for a class assignment. The notebook functions not only as a story-telling device, but also as a way for Cookie to sort through her emotions in the wake of Sister's breakdown. She is able to express all her fears, anger, and hidden emotions on the page, a perfect outlet because she would never express these feelings out loud. She is free to express...