The Great Treehouse War

Winnie is the protagonist of the novel. The story is mostly told from her perspective, although she is framed as a simultaneous omniscient and first-person narrator. Winnie’s primary goal throughout the narrative is to stand up to her parents and quell their conflict-focused behavior so that she has time to finish her local history report; however, on a deeper level, she wants her parents to listen and consider her and her needs. She feels unheard in her relationship with her parents, is distressed by their conflict, and has difficulty communicating her emotions about it. Over the course of the novel, Winnie learns to advocate for herself, reinforcing the themes of Self-Advocacy and Standing Up for One’s Needs, and Navigating Parental Divorce and Complex Family Dynamics.

Readers are first introduced to Winnie via the illustrations/prefatory material. In a letter addressed to Mr. Benetto, she establishes the collaborative memoir framing of the novel and states that she “tried to write it like a normal book, even though a lot of it was about me” (1). This indirectly characterizes Winnie as a leader of her friendship group who considers others’ perspectives equally, establishing her role in