Summary

The first chapter is titled “One." It is from Mab's perspective. She writes about being in the womb with her two sisters, the impatience and fear. She and her sister belonged to each other before they belonged to anyone else, including themselves. Mab's mother, Nora, decided she was going to choose names beginning with “M,” and she chose to have one, two, and three syllables to make them easier to keep straight. She chose Mab for baby number one, Monday for the second, and Mirabel for the third. Mab says no one has ever had trouble telling them apart. Mirabel began using “shorthand” to refer to them, tapping once for Mab, twice for Monday, and three times for herself. Mab understands that the purpose of this assignment was to “strengthen” their memories because “when almost everyone dies … there aren't enough people left who...