Point of View

The story is told from the first person point of view of protagonist Hermione Winters, a senior at her Canadian high school and co-captain of her cheerleading team. A significant element to note is that Hermione tells her story in the present tense which, combined with the first person point of view used throughout the book, gives the narrative an immediacy and intimacy, drawing the reader closely into Hermione’s experiences and emotions. This is particularly significant given the nature of those experiences (i.e. of being raped, becoming pregnant, having an abortion, and her determined efforts to rebuild her life) and those emotions (i.e. close to the surface, intense, and unpredictable). The combination of first person and present tense is also significant given that there are significant gaps in Hermione’s memory of everything that happened to her the night she was raped...