Point of View

The novel is told from the point of view of Emily, the main character of the story, in the first person past tense. As the narrator, Emily is honest and genuine with the readers. She is kind and measured in her judgements of other people, and she presents her view of the world with morality and goodness, which conflicts with her actions, which show her to be a liar and a woman who is complicit in murder.

Emily is emotionally neglected as a child, and this fuels her co-dependency as an adult. When Emily meets Kristen, who is manipulative, controlling, and exploitative—the two come together in a toxic friendship that takes over Emily’s life. Because of Emily’s co-dependency and extreme attachment to overbearing Kristen, Emily is incapable of seeing Kristen as anything other than wonderful, strong, brilliant, and kind. When Kristen begins...