Prologue Summary

The novel opens with fifteen-year-old Ruby Oliver's plea to the reader, where she says, "Before anyone reading this thinks to call me a slut - or even just imagines that I'm incredibly popular - let me point out that this list includes absolutely every single boy I've ever had the slightest any-kind-of-anything with" (p. 1).

Ruby has been sent to a shrink, Doctor Z, to help battle the unknown emotions leading to her panic attacks. Doctor Z has given Ruby the assignment of writing down every guy who has ever meant something to her, because Doctor Z believes Ruby's romantic life is the leading cause of her anxiety. As far as Ruby is concerned, only three types of people need shrinks: lunatics, tragics, and neurotics, and she is none of these. Ruby acknowledges that she's been through a lot in the past few weeks...