Character Analysis
Of the three Greene sisters, Whitney is both the most beautiful and the most outwardly troubled. She has a promising modeling career ahead of her when it becomes clear that there's something wrong; Whitney is sick and refuses to eat on a regular basis. When the family finds out, they put her into treatment so that she can beat her eating disorder.
At first Whitney is overwhelmingly pissed off at Kristen for ratting her out. Whitney has always kept to herself, so Annabel is a little afraid of interacting with her—who knows when she'll snap and get irritated? As time goes on though, Whitney starts to make progress in her recovery and opens up to her sisters emotionally. Annabel watches as her sister takes on healthier habits and becomes a more accessible person:
My own problems aside, I could not help but be impressed with Whitney's recent progress. A year ago everything had started; now, while she was still by no means cured, the changes in her were yet again evident, but they were good ones. (15.67)
In the end Whitney isn't a sign of the family's dysfunction or illness like Annabel initially thought—instead she becomes a representation of how strong they are, and how they can get over anything. When Annabel finally decides to tell her family about being raped, she looks to Whitney for strength and inspiration:
And when I felt myself really wavering, I looked at Whitney, who never flinched. She was the strongest of us all, and I kept my eyes on her, all the way to the end. (19.2)
They may not have always been the closest of sisters, but now they understand each other on a different level.