The stark contrast between Littleport's wealthy summer visitors and year-round residents creates a compelling backdrop for exploring how social hierarchies influence relationships, justice, and truth. The unlikely friendship between Sadie and Avery challenges these established boundaries while simultaneously highlighting their inescapable influence on the characters' lives.

Throughout the narrative, memories prove both unreliable and revealing, as Avery struggles to piece together the events leading to Sadie's death. The story masterfully explores how trauma, grief, and time can distort our recollections, while also showing how buried memories can hold crucial keys to understanding the present.

The intricate relationship between Sadie and Avery forms the emotional core of the novel, examining how female friendships can be both empowering and destructive. Their bond transcends social barriers but is also fraught with unspoken tensions, secrets, and potentially fatal misunderstandings.