I wish I didn't have to choose.' A recurring wish she'd had these last few weeks and one she made again now, unaware that every granted wish comes with a hidden cost, every blessing shadowed with a curse.
-- Oona/ Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: The author uses the narrative voice to challenge Oona's inner thoughts. Oona thinks that life would be easier if she did not have to make decisions. When time travel takes away her agency she understands what the narrator has known all along; it is better to play an active role in her life. Throughout the novel she learns that what she wants is not always what she needs. After experiencing the consequences of her initial wish, Oona stops trying to find an easy escape.

She tried to hold on to the numbing effect of the winter swim, even as each shiver commanded her to feel something.
-- Narrator (chapter 5)

Importance: Throughout the novel Oona experiences...