Wow. I went along thinking this was a sibling to The Dud Avocado...pithy women with moxie out on the town (are you getting the musty old dated feeling with those terms?). As I reached the conclusion this book really ramped up its emoting. I didn't feel much til then, except through the blasé sneers of teenagers with everything ahead, unfurling. But as we see Berie return to Horsehearts and her bff Sils, who never left, their friendship has long shine - not all, but some. An amazing revelation Berie has (that I hadn't reached myself yet nearing 40) is how much you devote to friendships in your teens and how that must come at an expense to your siblings' bond, at least in my case. Berie has razor sharp hindsight and it broke my heart.