Variation

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of suicidal ideation, physical and emotional abuse, sexual content, and cursing.

“Tired had hit twenty minutes ago, exhaustion followed ten minutes later, and I was quickly approaching full-out ruin, but I needed five more minutes. Another hundred yards would put me past my personal best in these kinds of swells, and I wasn’t quitting until I hit that mark.”

The opening lines of the novel show Hudson swimming in the rough Atlantic Ocean, determined to practice for his Coast Guard rescue diver test. These lines characterize Hudson as someone hardworking and determined, willing to push past exhaustion to ensure that he achieves his dreams. It also introduces the motif of “five minutes” as Hudson’s personal way of pushing past his own limits.

“‘I’m Alessandra. I don’t know if you have siblings, but there’s nothing more important to me than my sisters.’ […] 

Shit. Just like I could never leave Caroline or Gavin. I understand that need on a cellular, primal level.”

The reader’s first introduction to Allie characterizes her as someone protective and caring of her siblings. Additionally, it conveys the similarities between Hudson and Allie’s characters and why Hudson immediately falls in love with her: they are both deeply dedicated to protecting their siblings. Even at a young age, Hudson and Allie both prioritize their families, a factor that will raise the issue of The Balance Between Personal and Professional Dreams when they are adults.

“It should have been Lina here, not me. She’d been perfect for this role, as our mother had no trouble reminding me over the last three months of rehearsal. Stab. Push. Pull. I stitched as if the thread could hold closed the decade-old wound of grief that never quite healed.”

Allie’s thoughts as she stitches her tights and prepares for her role in Giselle reveal two important components of her character. First, she still feels guilt over the fact that Lina is no longer alive to be in the ballet. Second, it shows the pressure she feels from her mother, who repeatedly reminds her of Lina’s death, a pressure highlighted through the vicious verbs Allie uses as she sews: “Stab.