Point of View

The novel is narrated in a casual style in the first person in the voice of Davy Ross, with the narration mostly occurring in the present tense. Davy is sharply observant and opinionated regarding the behavior of those around him; he criticizes adults and people in general for behaving in an insincere manner. For example, at one point he becomes annoyed that the adults in his family have been arguing behind his back about where he should live now that his grandmother has died. Through the narration, he observes, “When people try to hide things from you, they shouldn’t be nice to you. They ought to ignore you or throw a pie at you or do something other than smile” (277). This desire that Davy has for straightforwardness in other people is contrasted by his inability to be straightforward with the reader about his own...