Summary

The novel opens on Stella Grant, a high school senior who has just arrived at Saint Grace's Hospital for medical treatment. Stella is afflicted with cystic fibrosis (CF), and a sore throat and cough requires complicated care and oversight by doctors. Stella is upset because she is missing her senior trip to Cabo with her best friends, Mya and Camila. Stella goes over her to-do list while decorating her hospital room, hanging up drawings made by her sister Abby, and a picture of herself and Abby at a park decorated with holiday lights. Camila and Mya arrive and Stella helps them choose bathing suits for their trip.

There is also a photo of Stella, Abby, and their parents in her room, which Stella looks at fondly, noting, “I miss that feeling. All of us together” (8). Her parents have recently divorced. She has not...