Point of View

The novel is predominantly told in first person from the perspective of Aza Holmes, a 16-year-old high school student battling a crippling anxiety disorder. Through Aza's perspective, the author demonstrates how paralyzing and dangerous this type of disorder can be. As Aza contends with intrusive and spiraling thought patterns, her perspective is often presented as a dialogue. In these instances, the reader is being given the perspective of Aza's rational mind alongside the perspective of her anxious mind as it escalates out of her control. The type frequently shifts into capitals or italics to indicate these splits in Aza's consciousness. For example, while in the hospital, Aza attempts to quell the compulsion to drink hand sanitizer, “DO YOU WANT TO DIE OF C. DIFF no but this is not rational THEN GET UP” (228). She does not want to drink the sanitizer because she knows it...