Who is Anna?

Anna is the narrator of the story and though her specific age is never given, the reader can easily deduce from context and connotation that she is either on the verge of becoming a teenager or has just barely arrived there. Having to take over household chores like cooking meals is not the only reason that Anna is experiencing a very deep emotional emptiness at the loss of her mother. Her mother died as a result of giving birth to her younger brother Caleb which has had the effect of loosening the natural emotional bond between siblings.