“Here is the boy, drowning.”

The novel’s Prologue depicts Seth’s death before the narrative itself begins, twisting the implicit expectation that death is an end. The Prologue and the last chapter are narrated from an omniscient, third-person perspective, while the rest of the novel is seen from Seth’s limited point of view (although still in the third person).

“The first moments after the boy’s death pass for him in a confused and weighty blur.”

At the beginning of the story, Seth is only referred to as “the boy,” which illustrates his sense of confusion while creating anticipation for the reader. The young boy eventually remembers his name in Chapter 5 after experiencing a vivid dream/memory, a symbolic rebirth that plays into the theme of Life and Death.

“This is the house where he used to live. The house from all those years ago. The house in England. The house his mother swore she never wanted to see again. The house they moved across an ocean and a continent to get away from.”

This quote establishes the novel’s setting and simultaneously creates suspense and wonder. This is the first time that the narrative hints at the dramatic incident that caused Seth’s guilt and the family’s move to America/the online world. Running from the house establishes how Seth’s parents deal with The Effects of Trauma.