Summary

The novel starts with a prologue titled “Today.” In the prologue, the narrator invites the reader, who is envisioned as a woman, to look around and see the millennial girls all around, tapping on their cell phones, buying makeup, and wearing short skirts. The narrator asks the reader to look for a pair of them and remember what it feels like to be young and with a best friend. The narrator says it would be useless to try giving the girls advice, so the reader ought to just sit back, observe the girls, and “Remember how good it felt to burn” (2).

The first section, “Us: November 1991-March 1992,” begins with a chapter titled “Dex: Before Lacey.” This chapter is told in the first person, with Dex...