The beginning of this novel turned me off a little because it felt heavy handed with the foreshadowing, but I found that, taken in whole, it made sense and worked. The conflicting emotions, the stresses, and the general feeling of helplessness that Lilach tried to push through were more intense for me than the moments where there was worry about violence. It was such an effective portrait of the fear and emotional complexity of being an outsider that even when I didn't relate to what was going on, I was still strongly affected by it.