This is a coming of age novel. Readers will identify with Zinny's search for a place that is hers, a place she need not share with others. They will understand the emotional upheaval experienced with the advent of puberty. Many may understand separation through the moving of a friend or death of someone very close. Jealousy is an emotion common to young people. It may be jealousy between siblings or the jealousy of a mother because of her child's intimate relationship with someone else when she wants to be the confidante. Readers may see their own lives as a journey of discovery as they examine the metaphor for Zinny's journey of discovery as she uncovers the physical trail in a literal journey between Bybanks and Chocton.