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Summary
Chapter 0: If You’re Not Living On The Edge, You’re Taking Up Too Much Space
Grace Foster stands apprehensively on the tarmac. She’s nervously confronting the reality of boarding a small, seemingly inadequate plane flown by Philip, the man sent by her Uncle Finn to take her to Fairbanks, Alaska. This moment signifies a major shift from everything she’s previously known, as she faces leaving behind her old life in San Diego and starting a completely new chapter, with a new school and new friends. Despite her apprehension, Grace recognizes the potential for her situation to become even worse, as she forces herself through the plane doors and the novel begins.
Chapter 1: Landing Is Just Throwing Yourself At The Ground And Hoping You Don’t Miss
Grace approaches Healy, Alaska, by plane. The landing and her first moments in the new environment are equally unsettling. Met by her bouncy cousin Macy, Grace learns that her Uncle Finn, who’s the headmaster of Katmere Academy, couldn't meet her due to an emergency. Overwhelmed by the change from San Diego to Healy, Grace dons hot pink snow-gear and nervously sets off for the boarding school with Macy.
Chapter 2: Just Because You Live In A Tower Doesn’t Make You A Prince
Having survived her terrifying snowmobile ride with Macy, Grace arrives at Katmere Academy, the boarding school in a Gothic castle where she’s going to spend the foreseeable future. As they approach and enter the school, Grace briefly stumbles, unused to the low oxygen content of the air. Inside the school, they pass through a common room where Grace becomes the focus of attention from other students, which she hates. Despite her initial desire to be alone in this scary new situation, Grace gratefully opts to share a room with Macy. Throughout these events, Grace is internally wrestling with the recent loss of her parents, a fact that subtly surfaces during her conversation with Macy but which she quickly pushes aside as she tries to seem composed. As Macy leaves to find her father, Grace becomes intrigued by a chess set featuring intricately carved vampire and dragon pieces. Suddenly, she has company: it’s an attractive male stranger who comments on the unusual board-game materials. Grace isn’t sure whether to be annoyed or intrigued by him.
Chapter 3: Vampire Queens Aren’t the Only Ones with a Nasty Bite
In this chapter, Grace continues her tense, sexually charged interaction with this unnamed, but attractive and intimidating male student. Their conversation begins with a light-hearted debate over a chess piece. However, the atmosphere becomes more intense as he warns Grace about the dangers of the school and suggests that she should leave for her own safety, literally backing her into a corner as he does so. Their exchange grows increasingly heated, as he makes enigmatic but alarming references to dangers within the school. She’s sure he’s exaggerating when he likens Katmere Academy to Hell, but he doesn’t seem like he’s joking. Despite feeling a combination of fear and serious confusion, Grace firmly stands her ground. The conversation then takes an emotional turn when Grace reveals that her parents have recently died, leading to an unexpected moment of shared pain and vulnerability. The chapter ends with the student, still unnamed at this point, reluctantly acknowledging Grace's decision to stay and advising her to “always, always watch her back.”
Chapter 4: Shining Armor Is So Last Century
Uncle Finn apologizes for his absence at the airport, expressing concern for Grace's well-being and discussing her psychological care. Flint, a friendly, muscular student, insists on carrying both Grace and her luggage up the stairs. As they reach her new room, the mysterious student from the night before—whom Macy tells Grace is named Jaxon Vega—and a group of unfriendly teens pass by without a word. This leaves Grace disgruntled, and she’s unnerved by the lingering feeling that she’s being watched.
Chapter 5: Things Hot Pink and Harry Styles Have in Common
Grace settles into her new room, examining and feeling appreciative of Macy's thoughtful (if hideous) arrangements, including a hot-pink comforter. Despite her preference for purple, Grace thanks Macy for her preparations. They discuss Jaxon, whom Macy describes as sexy but angsty, and Finn, whom she calls “gorgeous and nice and supersmart.” Grateful for Macy's kindness, Grace gets ready for bed, wearing her favorite Harry Styles t-shirt and trying not to think about Jaxon.
Analysis
The prologue and the first chapter highlight Grace’s discomfort and the vast differences between her past life and her current situation, emphasizing her sense of loss and disorientation as she begins everything anew.
The novel opens with Grace on the tarmac, a physical and metaphorical threshold between her old life in sunny San Diego and the unknown challenges of Alaska. This setting immediately introduces a contrast between warmth (San Diego) and cold (Alaska), familiarity and alienation. Grace's apprehension about boarding a small, “seemingly inadequate plane” sets the stage for her character's internal struggles with the prospect of change. We feel a sense of intense discomfort and foreboding as Grace steps through the plane doors, which kick off her entrance into a new chapter of life filled with uncertainties.
The landing in Healy, Alaska, is a literal and figurative "throwing oneself at the ground," an unpleasant and scary start to her next phase. The minute size of Healy and the overwhelming Alaskan landscape represent the enormity of the changes Grace faces. The plane’s rough landing is a literal representation of Grace's turbulent transition from her past life to the sub-Arctic present. Grace's introduction to the small, rudimentary airport and the freezing cold is yet another abrupt change from her comfortable urban life in San Diego. Wolff uses this contrast to heighten the sense of isolation that Grace feels upon arrival. The hot pink snow-gear that Macy gives her doesn’t help with this, as it is also a callback to her childhood. It’s meant to make Grace feel comfortable and accepted, but it actually just reminds her of how much things have changed, and how long it’s been since she was last with Macy and Uncle Finn.
Their arrival at Katmere Academy, a colossal building with Gothic architecture and an imposing vibe, throws Grace into an atmosphere laden with mystery and potential peril. The school's chilly aura foreshadows the onslaught of unexplained and supernatural things Grace is about to encounter. Her brief sighting of a shadowy, watching figure in a tower window also piques both hers and the reader's curiosity. Wolff packs these first scenes at Katmere with tropes from Gothic novels, as if to make the reader understand that Grace is about as far away from modern San Diego as she possibly could be.
Grace's internal battle with the recent loss of her parents is repeatedly woven into these chapters, explaining some of the intensity of her reactions to the changes she undergoes and the strangeness of Katmere Academy. The intricate stone chess set that Grace plays with while talking to Jaxon hints at the school's—and possibly Grace's—hidden labyrinth of alliances. The reader has no context for this symbolism yet, but it’s no coincidence that the pieces are made of stone, and the opposing characters on them are vampires and dragons.
Jaxon is set up as a potential love interest within these very early pages. Grace and his seemingly innocuous debate over a chess piece escalates quickly, revealing undercurrents that Katmere might be more than it seems. Jaxon's enigmatic references to the dangers of Katmere don’t do much to make Grace feel at ease. Although he overtly warns her against it, the chapter ends with Jaxon's reluctant acceptance of Grace's decision to stay. Her Uncle Finn's arrival and his warm concern provide a brief respite from this teenage sexual tension, offering Grace a fleeting sense of acceptance and safety. His attention to her psychological welfare, including plans for counseling and food, shows his understanding of the gravity of Grace's situation and how seriously he plans to take his new role as her guardian.
The difference between the mysterious Jaxon’s chilly, off-putting edge and the welcoming attitude of friendly new acquaintances like Flint is stark, making Grace feel confused about her place in the new environment. Flint's affection and assistance make the other students seem even colder and stranger, particularly the group of pale, brooding teens that surround Jaxon. However, the playful banter between Grace and Macy about Flint and the discussion of Jaxon’s oddities establish a sense of camaraderie and normalcy against the backdrop of the strange school. At least when she’s in her room, Grace feels like she’s among family. The contrast between Grace's old life and her current situation is a driving force already by this point in the novel, as is Grace’s inability to shake her thoughts of Jaxon even after bonding with Macy about One Direction.
