Point of View

The novel alternates between six different points of view. The first two chapters are told from Reyna's perspective. She is the central protagonist of the novel and the main connecting force between all the characters. She is also the catalyst for events that affect several characters in the novel. The first two chapters belong to her, as well as the last. The story bookends with her because the decision she makes to not drive the cigarette-smuggling car is a decision that causes a chain of events that affects so many of the other characters (Ted, Darisse, Lynnette). Reyna's chapters are the only ones told from first-person. This is done to make her narrative more immediate and immersive. Reyna is our entry point into all the different perspectives. Her story is the most accessible. She is a young woman living in New York in love with...