Point of View

The novel is told from the first-person point of view of Dawn Cutler, the heroine of the novel. This point of view is appropriate as Dawn makes her way through the various aspects and challenges of her life. The plot of the novel deals with the way that Grandmother Cutler is cruel to Dawn all through her life, then Dawn comes out with the upper hand as she is given the majority of interest in Cutler's Cove by her father at the end of the novel. The dramatic impact of this abuse could not have been as startling if it were told by another character.

The story is recounted through both dialogue and exposition with about as much emphasis given to both of these two forms of writing. In the dialogue sections, Dawn interacts with the characters around her. It is in these sections that the...