When the book began, I wasn't sure I would be able to keep the three sisters and their stories straight. Instead, I was swallowed up by their world. The story was written so vividly that I felt like I was watching a movie. Each sister's predicament was unique, as was her personality and the way she chose to cope with things. My favorite aspect of the novel was what I thought was the most unique - the story is told in a strange first person/third person hybrid that I have never read before. Each sister is referred to by name: Rose, Bean, and Cordy. Yet they are "our" sisters, "we" live with "our" mother and father, etc. It was very interesting to be part of the story, yet always on the outskirts. You were never a specific sister, but you were in the family somehow.