Claire, Delilah, and Astrid all have complex family histories that shape their adult attitudes toward relationships, trust, and vulnerability. Herring Blake establishes early that the tension between Astrid and Delilah is inextricable from Delilah’s growing bond with Claire, while Claire’s romantic history with Josh is an obstacle to her happiness because it enhances her fears of abandonment and unworthiness. Ultimately, all three characters choose their love for each other as sufficient motivation to face their pasts and embrace a healthier future.

When the novel opens, Delilah and Astrid’s relationship is a hostile one, epitomized by Delilah’s “smirk at the way she’d saved her stepsister’s name in her contacts,” where it is spelled “Ass-trid” (2). When she arrives in Bright Falls, Delilah overhears Astrid complaining about her, brushing off her stepsister’s greeting with “We don’t have to do this” (38). For her part, Astrid declares to Claire and Iris, “I had to call her at two in the morning just to get her to talk to me” (39). Initially, this reads like petulant exhaustion, not necessarily evidence of attachment, in keeping with Astrid’s reserve. At this stage, both stepsisters are intentionally brusque and dismissive of each other. Later scenes hint that a rapprochement might be possible, as both Delilah and Astrid are horrified by the hideous decor in her hotel room, and Astrid brings Delilah coffee.