At what point did you suspect time didn’t flow normally around Clearwater Orchard? What hints did you find, either while reading or in hindsight?

At what point did you suspect time didn’t flow normally around Clearwater Orchard? Had you figured out the secret before Autumn’s confrontation with Sasha? What hints did you find, either while reading or in hindsight?

It wasn't until the sister started relating incidents in their long lives, yet they looked and acted in their twenties that I began to suspect something.

It was when the story would jump back to when they were in their 20s.

I think it was when people couldn't remember how long ago an event happened, like the twins' 30th birthday. It started off vague and kept shifting farther and farther back in time. I think I truly suspected it in the middle of the Autumn Interlude.

From the beginning pages, it was clear that the concept of time would be an important element in the story. On her way to town with a load of pecans, Lil can't remember how long the road has been closed. Sasha's digital watch just shows four zeroes. Jason tells Lil, "You can't stop time." Autumn asks Sasha, "How long has t been like this?" speaking about the town's decay. Sasha can't answer. Autumn doesn't want anything from Sasha except more time. Lil's sense of time is measured in harvests. Sasha's watch still flashes zeroes. Lil says maybe Autumn needs more time before she can talk to Sasha. Sasha checks her watch again -- still zeroes. Autumn needs a little time to process.

Now, halfway through the book, Autumn finally tells Sasha that her thirtieth birthday was twenty-nine years ago. In the Autumnal Interlude with its oft repeated, "I always wondered if I should tell you," it becomes clearer what has happened to the town.

When the road was closed for so long and the ferry seemed unreliable

They kept referring to the road being closed and not knowing how long it had been closed. That was a clue to me.