Point of View

This novel is told in first-person, limited omniscience through Ellen's perspective. The point of view is reliable. While it is very clear that the story is filtered through Ellen's perspective, there is never any question that Ellen is telling the truth to the best of her memory. She often poses questions and wonders whether the events she is recalling are the actual truth, or truths she has reconstructed through time and memory. The point of view of this novel is integral to Ellen's character progression. Much of her progression occurs through her filtered memories and her emotional relationship with her parents. This character growth would be lost if the reader was to experience the events of the novel through a third-person narrator. Experiencing the emotions of Ellen's journey through her own perspective provides the intimacy required for readers to tackle the theme of the morality of...