comment on style / language

The language from chapter to chapter—and sometimes within chapters—varies based on whose perspective the chapter is focusing on. For example, Book 1, Chapter 6 centers on Astrid’s point of view, thus using valley-girl-like phrases such as, “it was soooo frustrating,” or “adding even more oomph” (46). Such colloquial vocabulary seems to fit with a character who flunked out of school and spends most of her time shopping. In contrast, chapters that focus on Rachel, like Book 2, Chapter 4, use higher-level vocabulary, aligning with Rachel’s status as a professor: “The flowers in turn seemed to be choreographing their bloom to the mellifluous sounds…Rachel felt like she was floating along with them in some sybaritic dream” (203).