Summary

In the novel’s prologue, Annabelle McBride, many years after the events of the novel, explains that in 1943 when she turned twelve, she learned how to tell real lies based on real fears. Annabelle relates that, between World War II and a dark-hearted girl coming to town, she felt confused. Annabelle also explains that when she turned twelve, she learned that her actions mattered. It was a burden she was not prepared to handle.

Annabelle accidentally smashes her piggy bank when trying to get a penny out and buries the broken pieces in Chapter 1. She hides all the coins, including a silver dollar her grandfather gave her on her eleventh birthday, in an old handkerchief in a boot under her bed. Her mother believes she has hidden the pig to prevent theft. Annabelle lives not only with her parents and brothers, but her...