As a new year begins, Anne recognizes that she has changed. How does she describe those changes, and how does she feel about them? What other changes in Anne do her Hanukkah gifts show?
Anne's body has begun to mature and she realizes that with this maturity is the very grim reality that she will never be able to enjoy being a young adult. She has hope, but also a sense of her own mortality. She loves the changes in her body and what they signal, calling it her 'sweet secret'. As to her Hanukkah gifts, it indicates that she's maturing because she's become considerate and thoughtful of others.