whether it was traveling to voice lessons or going to the hospital.  Sara Louise never caused her parents to worry.  She wished that she had so they had been required to pay her more attention.  Growing up, Sara Louise had felt sad and insecure.  When she was thirteen, she described an internal change:

I was proud of my sister, but that year, something began to rankle beneath the pride (Chapter 2).

Jealousy and bitterness toward Caroline became more evident in her life.  When Caroline sang well during the Christmas concert, Sara Louise was filled with anger.  She had dreams of Caroline dying in various ways.  When Caroline made little jabs at her, Sara Louise flew into a rage.

Sara Louise struggled with feelings of envy in general.  When Call dropped out of school to work with her father on his boat, Louise was jealous of him.

An internal conflict is a conflict a character has with his or her self.  The internal conflict usually revolves around a decision or fear.  In this book, there are two main internal conflicts.

Louise’s insecurity about Caroline

Louise feels that her twin sister Caroline always gets more attention, first because she was born sickly and then because she is pretty and talented.  Louise feels bad about being jealous of her twin.

Decision to Attend College

When Louise gets the opportunity to attend college, she struggles with it.  She has never liked staying on the island, yet when she gets the chance she does not want to go.  She eventually does, and she becomes a doctor.

Unlike internal conflicts, which are personal fears and struggles, external conflicts are between a character and other outside forces.  These are the main types of external conflicts.

Character vs. character is the most common external conflict.  This occurs when a character has a problem with another character.  In this book, Louse has an external conflict with her sister, Sara and her parents, because they pay more attention to Sara.

Character vs. society is a conflict because Louise feels stunted by the small-town life on the island.  She also has problems with society’s expectations of her as being feminine and beautiful.

Character vs. nature involves the problem of Caroline being born sickly, so that Louise gets less attention.  There are also the elements involved in living on an island.

Character vs. technology is a lesser conflict in the novel, but Caroline is born sickly and medical technology also plays a role because Louise becomes a doctor, and at the end struggles to keep the baby she delivers alive.