One of the questions raised in the novel is the idea of intellectual property, or ownership of a creative work. Who is the true owner of the Whisperwood story? Can a story ever truly belong to anyone?

When Flora learns that she was taken as a child, she slowly uncovers two parallel sets of memories. What is the relationship between memory and storytelling? Is one more reliable, or more “true,” than the other?

Hazel blames herself for losing Flora because she put her own needs ahead of caring for her sister. Who was most at fault for Flora’s disappearance? Were Hazel’s actions misguided, or justified? How much responsibility should she have taken, and how much freedom did she deserve?