“When I was a kid, my mom constantly invented games. The Quiet Game. The Who Can Make Their Cookie Last Longer? Game. A perennial favorite, The Marshmallow Game involved eating marshmallows while wearing puffy Goodwill jackets indoors, to avoid turning on the heat. The Flashlight Game was what we played when the electricity went out.”

The book’s opening passage introduces the voice of Avery, the protagonist and narrator. Immediately, Avery makes her disadvantaged upbringing clear while also introducing one of the narrative’s most important motifs—games.

“You know me, Maxine. I always land on my feet.”

Avery says this to Max after she learns Libby has allowed Drake to move back into their home and leaves to sleep in her car. Her determination in this context and her positive assertion that she’ll land on her feet speak to Avery’s toughness and resilience—and foreshadows her final victory in the inheritance game.

“Ever had your life ruined by someone with the last name Hawthorne?”

Alisa poses this question to Avery when driving Avery and Libby to Hawthorne House for the first time. The loaded query foreshadows the difficulties that lie ahead for Avery, suggesting the potential that her life could be ruined by a Hawthorne.