Point of View

The majority of this novel is told from the first-person point of view of Ella. Consider the opening sentence: “There weren’t many people I loved when I was eleven, but I loved Mr. Macabe” (3). Ella speaks of herself and her own love for Macabe in this sentence. This first-person point of view is appropriate for the majority of this novel because it focuses on Ella’s experiences. Ella describes her own life as an abused child who is outcast by her family and ostracized by her community. The use of the first-person point of view allows the reader to track Ella’s thoughts and emotions as she comes to terms with her own skin color and sense of self-worth.

There are also portions of the novel that are told by a third-person narration with a focus on Katherine. In the first part of the...