“Mom had gotten better through the years at blending in and appearing at first glance like other mothers. But she still spent the equinox in the woods and the solstice at the sea.”

This line, delivered in the novel’s opening pages, hints at some of the story’s backstory and the secrets at play. The reference to “getting better” at something suggests a targeted effort to suppress and camouflage; there is also a reference to “others,” suggesting a division between types of people. Finally, the narrator references solstices and equinoxes and their associations with the natural landscape, creating a clear picture of the life left behind in only a few words.

“Again, my eyes trailed to the book of spells. More than once, when I’d woken from the nightmares or when I was eaten up by loneliness, I’d considered coming here and opening it.”

In this moment, the narrator alludes to a hesitancy, almost a taboo, surrounding the family spell book. It raises questions about why the narrator stopped herself from alleviating her pain and what the potential consequences would be. This dynamic between the dark and light aspects of the island’s magic is a recurring thread throughout the novel.

“The orchard was in our blood, my grandfather said but to me it had always been just a curse.”

Connection to the land and The Influence of Ancestral Heritage are some of the major ideas in the novel, and they present both positive and negative elements. In this moment, August recognizes his inborn connection with his family’s land as an unbreakable tether. His family heritage gives them power over the town, but it also demands their lifelong service.