Point of View

Point of view in Barry’s novel is fluid and complex. The novel is narrated in the first-person plural, using the pronoun “we” to describe the collective point of view of the members of the Danvers High School varsity field hockey team. In addition, it switches into the third-person singular when following one specific character for an extended period of time. The featured character is sometimes understood to be observed by the other members of the team with no direct access to that character’s thoughts. At other times, the collective “we” has omniscient access to the character who is being described in the third person as well as the other members. All of the main characters, the 11 players on the team, are given about equal attention throughout the novel, with each having a longer section narrated in the third person that focuses on their...