Point of View

The novel is written in first person by the narrator, Karen. The first person narration goes further than merely having the story portrayed through Karen's eyes; Karen is writing the book for her son, Jacob. The fact that Grodstein uses this book-within-a-book method adds a second dimension to the narration. Through Karen's point of view, we see her side of the events that occur as well as events from the past that are relevant to her story telling. With Karen's switching between present time action and past anecdotes, the reader can see the effect that the past has had on the present in the lives of the characters.

Another issue that comes up regarding point of view is that of narrator reliability. We see all events and other characters through Karen's eyes. We get particular insight into how these events have affected her personally, and...