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Jennifer BrownA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Part 1, Chapters 1-2
Part 1, Chapters 3-4
Part 1, Chapter 5
Part 2, Chapters 6-7
Part 2, Chapters 8-9
Part 2, Chapters 10-11
Part 2, Chapters 12-13
Part 2, Chapters 14-15
Part 3, Chapters 16-17
Part 3, Chapters 18-19
Part 3, Chapters 20-21
Part 3, Chapters 22-23
Part 3, Chapters 24-25
Part 3, Chapters 26-27
Part 3, Chapters 28-29
Part 3, Chapters 30-31
Part 3, Chapters 32-33
Part 3, Chapters 34-35
Part 3, Chapters 36-37
Part 3, Chapters 38-39
Part 3, Chapters 40-41
Part 3, Chapters 42-43
Part 4, Chapter 44
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Valerie uncharacteristically paints her nails pink, a color she hasn’t worn in so long, she’s afraid the polish is not good. She remarks that her usual colors for the past few years have been black, navy, hunter green, or a sickly, corpselike yellow. Before that, Valerie reminds the reader, “Everything had been pink. I think I burned myself out on pink. And then I burned myself out on black. I’m not sure” (290).
Her dad comes in gingerly, described as moving through Valerie’s messy room like he’s picking his way “through a minefield” (291). He’s come to discuss what Valerie witnessed with his secretary at his office. First, he tells Valerie he loves Briley, his secretary, and that he has already told Valerie’s mother, who has kicked him out. To hear her father speak of love surprises Valerie: “I guess I’d always seen Dad as one-dimensional. Never a thought that didn’t include work. Never an emotion that wasn’t impatience or anger”(293).
Later that night, after her father has left the family for good, Valerie sneaks down to eat. She encounters her mother, crying. She asks her mother if she’s going to miss Valerie’s father, to which her mother responds, “I miss the guy I said ‘I do’ to.