Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Calm, Reflective
While she leaves no question in our minds that getting relocated by witness protection really stinks, Toswiah/Evie remains relatively chill about the way she relays what happened. Toswiah/Evie is writing this story to help herself make sense of what happened—so her system of telling us what happened and then asking us to think about it, makes sense. After all, it's what she's doing herself. To this end, her writing is peppered with moments like this.
Things fall apart. I know this now. Sometimes it happens fast—like the time my sister came down wrong on her ankle and missed a whole season of cheerleading. [...]
But sometimes things fall apart slowly. (4.6-7)
Throughout, Toswiah/Evie notes her experiences and passes on what she's learned. Though her life has been uprooted, there's nothing rash about her tone—she steadily makes her way through her story just as she does in her life.