Point of View

This novel is written using a third person, limited omniscient narrator, Jo. Thus, the events are seen exclusively through the thoughts and perspectives of Jo. This perspective ensures that the central mystery of the novel -- whether or not Ursa is an alien, or a normal kid -- remains intact. Jo does not receive what she personally believes to be completely solid information as to whether or not Ursa is an alien or a regular human child, meaning that the reader does not know, for most of the novel, Ursa’s true identity. The reader learns the true identity of Ursa Dupree at the same time and in the same method Jo does, which is by listening to Ursa tell her story at the St. Louis hospital.

The novel retains such a tight perspective on Jo that the focus will stay on her while she...