Point of View

The majority of this story is told from the third person point of view of an omniscient narrator with a focus on Hal. This focus on Hal is important because the storyline follows the way that Hal decides to deceive the Westaways to help ensure her financial future. Hal feels guilty about what she is doing to the Westaways but is desperate for cash to pay the loan shark who is threatening her with bodily harm. By focusing on Hal, the author is able to follow Hal’s emotions and thoughts as she journeys from her initial decision to try to deceive the Westaways to her realization that the family is made up of real people with whose lives and emotions she is manipulating.

There are portions of the novel, the diary portions, that are told from the first person point of view of Maggie...