The year I turned twelve, I learned how to lie.
-- Annabelle (Prologue)

Importance: When the novel begins, Annabelle sets the stage for the events of the novel, reflecting on them many years after they have occurred. Those circumstances –World War II and a new, cruel girl named Betty coming to the hills, set the stage for a seminal period in Annabelle’s life. Annabelle’s innocence, much like the innocence of a generation of Americans, is shattered by real-world events.

The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and did mattered.
-- Annabelle (Prologue)

Importance: As Annabelle continues to set the stage for the novel, she also relates that, at twelve, she learned the things she said and did mattered. This is not only a question of Annabelle getting older physically, but getting older emotionally and mentally as well. The weight of age will have an incredibly important bearing in the time to come...