Point of View

The novel is written in first-person from the limited perspective of 14-year-old Faith Sunderly. Though Faith is young and has been oppressed all her life, she is a strong, determined character. She is somewhat malleable and often responds to specific situations and people. For example, she does not speak out when she feels her mother is being unfair toward her. It hurts her terribly when her father decides to leave her behind with some of the family's possessions because the wagon is overloaded, but she does not say so. In fact, she says that she has an umbrella and that she would not mind being out of the wagon for awhile. She makes those statements to the adults in the scene because she is trying to salvage her dignity, but the reader is aware of her thoughts.

The limited perspective is typical of a mystery...