Great and Precious Things

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, death, and cursing.

“Nothing about the town had changed since I’d left, which was pretty much the point of the whole town. Just past the paved roads, Alba was the best-preserved ghost town in Colorado.”

The first few lines introduce the setting as an important component of the novel. In Cam’s eyes, the town isn’t only stagnant but makes a living off its refusal to change. This establishes the primary conflict for Cam, who is a far different person than the one who left Alba six years earlier.

“Of course [Xander] forgave me. Of course he welcomed me with open arms. Of course there was no malice in his eyes, just open, raw love. He didn’t need to blast me with all my flaws. He’d always lived as an example, showing me every single way I’d never measure up by simply being him.”

The repetition of the words “of course” emphasizes the internal conflict that Cam faces regarding his brother Xander. He views himself—just as others do—in relation to Xander, believing that his own mistakes are worse simply because everyone sees Xander as so much better than him. The emphasis on the goodness of Xander’s character throughout the first part of the novel creates expectations for the reader that the novel later subverts in its twist ending. Xander isn’t the hero that everyone, including Cam, believes he is.

“There was something familiar in the way he held himself, the way his posture advertised submission but his energy felt 100 percent aggressive. I had the utterly illogical impression that this guy was more dangerous than the loaded gun pointed at him.”

Willow’s first thoughts when she sees Cam, not knowing who he is, convey her belief that he’s “aggressive” and “dangerous.” This introduction to Cam’s appearance emphasizes the duality within his character. His size, tattoos, and demeanor give off the impression that he’s a bad person—even Willow thinks so at first glance.