Point of View

The novel is written in third-person from the omniscient perspective of an unidentified narrator. In the opening scene, this narrator directly addresses the reader, saying that the novel was going to begin with a school bus falling from the sky, but because there were no witnesses to that event, it will begin with boogers instead. The narrator does not make a habit of addressing the reader after that point. The omniscient perspective is necessary because the story line follows an array of characters. Each chapter is devoted to a specific character or group of characters. Though they interact with each other, at least superficially, they are all going about their business separately, which makes the omniscient perspective necessary. Even within the individual chapters, the omniscient perspective is necessary. For example, one chapter is devoted to Bryson and Ty, two boys who find themselves being bullied...