In my opinion, both girls are reliable in as far as what they remember. Their truths are based upon their memories, and we all know that specific events are remembered far differently by different people. Our reactions effect what we see, our emotions can color the things that surround us. The events at St. Bonny's took place when the girls were eight-years-old. They each had their own fears, and they were each taken from their mothers and placed in a strange place alongside other children in similar but different situations.