Chapters 1 - 4 Summary

The novel opens with Willow sitting in her high school classroom, staring at the arms of one of her fellow classmates. There's a long, red scratch on the girl's arm and Willow is trying to figure out how she got it. Maybe she has a kitten that scratched her, or maybe she got it some other way, the way Willow receives her marks. Willow knows that all around her, the kids at school whisper, gossip about her behind her back: she's the one who killed her parents. Overwhelmed with emotion, Willow runs from the classroom and into the bathroom, pulling a fresh razorblade from her backpack. The voices of the whispering girls ring in her ears as she presses the razorblade against her skin. As the blood pricks forward, Willow thinks it's the most beautiful feeling in the world.

Willow is...