Summary

The novel begins with the narrator sitting across from an unnamed person remembering the first time she cut herself. Callie, the first-person narrator of the book, recalls running in a cross-country meet and realizing that no one would notice if she did not complete the course. Instead of finishing the meet, she runs to her house where she finds and Exacto-knife on the kitchen table. She picks up the sharp blade and cuts her palm, feeling a momentary rush of euphoria. Callie does not tell the person, “you”, about any of this, instead sitting silently in “your” office.

Callie is in Sea Pines, a residential treatment facility for people with issues. In the group Callie was assigned to upon being admitted to Sea Pines there are three girls with food issues, two girls with substance-abuse issues, and her. The group meets daily for...