Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?
Third Person (Limited Omniscient)
In this book, we're inside Billy's head. But it's not because he's our narrator. Nope, we've got a third-person storyteller who just happens to like sticking to Billy's point of view. So even though the narrator isn't the same person as Billy, he or she still tells us only what our guy can see or hear or think or feel.
What makes this perspective great is that we get to hear about Billy's experiences. Just take a look at how Billy can't stay away while trying to pull his all-nighter:
He would give it one more try. He raised his head and opened his eyes as wide as he could.
"Stay awake," he commanded himself.
A swift, invisible hand pressed his head down and stitched his eyes shut. He tried to conjure up an image of the monster under his bed, but he didn't even have the energy for that. (3.4.54-56)
Billy himself might not have energy for imagining monsters or even telling us his story, but never fear, because the limited omniscient point of view is ready to give us the full scoop. And that means we get to be inside Billy's head as he struggles to stay awake (and when he fails, too). Yep, we're with him every step of the way.