Hurried, Psychological
No matter what your actual pace is, the act of reading Bullyville feels rushed. At the level of the sentence, many lines begin with conjunctions like "and" or "but," which helps build momentum. Also, the author sometimes squishes many events together in a short space, especially toward the end: Over the course of four short chapters (10-13), Bart meets Nola, they develop a deep friendship, and she dies. And the final chapter covers decades' worth of ground, first jumping to a few years later and then fast-forwarding to Bart as an adult telling his own kids about Baileywell.
Though reading Bullyville feels like a race to the end, it is not a plot-driven novel. The author's focus is always on the narrator's inner life. Since Bart is so isolated—mostly he has no one to talk to—he sort of functions as his own psychologist, constantly reporting on his emotional state. And he's good at articulating all his complex feelings, even when he doesn't fully understand them. Plus there are some interesting flashbacks, including the one where Bart remembers his jack-in-the-box toy when Tyro stuffs him in a locker (6.4-6.9). Whoo boy, Freud would have a field day with that one!