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Summary
Chapter 6: No, I Really Don’t Want to Build a Snowman
Grace, who’s still disturbed by thoughts of Jaxon Vega, decides she doesn't want to get to know him. Restless at 3:23 AM, she wanders the Academy’s halls alone in the dark. Her solitude is broken by two students named Marc and Quinn, who menacingly threaten her and interrogate her. They begin to question her about what she’s doing at Katmere, implying she’s hiding something from everyone. Grace protests that she has no idea what they mean, which seems to make them a lot angrier. They threaten to drag her outside into the night, which terrifies Grace as the temperatures are well below zero.
Chapter 7: Something Really Freaking Wicked This Way Comes
Marc and Quinn are serious about getting information out of Grace: when she won’t tell them the secret they’re trying to bully out of her, they begin to try to drag her outside. She struggles, but they are much bigger and stronger than her and she can’t get away. The situation escalates until Jaxon intervenes, demanding they leave her alone and then fighting them off. He again warns Grace to leave Katmere, suggesting she's unknowingly involved in something dangerous.. This leaves Grace puzzled and fearful about the Academy's threats, but she stubbornly refuses to admit that she’s terrified. They share a brief, intense moment when Jaxon wipes a trace of blood off her lip and sucks it off his finger. He instructs her to return to her room and lock the door, which confuses her even more, but she agrees to do so. Grace then recounts her intimidating encounter with Marc and Quinn to Macy, expressing her confusion about their questions. Macy is outraged and plans to inform her father, but Grace begs her not to tell Uncle Finn. Back in bed, Grace reflects on Jaxon's unexpected rescue, feeling a mix of indebtedness and bewilderment. His cryptic warnings about the dangers of Katmere Academy are beginning to make her uneasy.
Chapter 8: Live and Let Die
Grace prepares for a welcome party at Katmere Academy, hosted in her honor, despite struggling with altitude sickness. However, the party overwhelms her with its cliques and its unfriendly students. Feeling alienated, Grace tries to navigate the complex social landscape of meeting different groups. She doesn’t feel a sense of belonging anywhere, especially given the cold stares she receives from most of her classmates.
Chapter 9: Even Hell Has Its Factions
Grace continues to feel horribly out of place. She meets several students: Simone, who mocks her; Lily and Gwen, who are friendlier; and Cam, Macy's boyfriend. The atmosphere changes when Jaxon arrives, “dressed all in Gucci black” and looking intimidating. Grace feels increasingly uncomfortable, especially under the chilly gaze of Jaxon and his friends.
Chapter 10: Turns Out the Devil Wears Gucci
During the party, Grace's attempt to drink Dr. Pepper casually results in an embarrassing moment when she splatters it everywhere with Jaxon watching. Flint, Cam, and James all laugh at her, which makes her feel worse, and Jaxon's lack of reaction adds even more to her feeling of humiliation. The striated social dynamics of the academy are already on full display at this less-than-festive event, with students divided into distinct groups. Overwhelmed and feeling deflated by Jaxon's apparent disdain for her, Grace quickly decides to leave the party and then flees to her room.
Analysis
Chapters 6-10 are mostly concerned with Grace’s awkward acclimation to Katmere Academy, her relationships with Macy and Jaxon, and her navigation of the school’s complex social dynamics.
Her initial experiences at Katmere are not the most reassuring or welcoming moments of her time there. Her nocturnal wanderings in Chapter 6, driven by her restlessness over Jaxon’s behavior, are the preamble to a dangerous encounter with the wolf-shifters Marc and Quinn. She’s confused and startled by the seemingly random attack in the dark hallway, and even more perplexed by the oddly flirtatious rescue Jaxon performs. All the boys she interacts with in this scene imply that they know she has a secret, but Grace has no idea what they’re talking about, a fact that doesn’t seem to deter them from interrogating her. This incident is just one of many threats the other students of the Academy pose, although Grace has no idea of the extent of the danger yet. Her creeping feeling of discomfort sets the tone for her first few days.
Macy’s role as Grace’s cousin and confidante starts to unfold more completely in this section. While their initial reunion was a little strained, the two begin to regain their former closeness as they spend more time together. In Chapter 7, Macy's outrage and protectiveness following Grace's recap of the encounter with Marc and Quinn make Grace feel a lot closer to her. Previously she had worried that they wouldn’t find common ground, but from this point onward Macy serves as a crucial anchor for Grace in the otherwise somewhat alienating environment of Katmere.
Grace's relationship with Jaxon is becoming more complex; initially determined to avoid him, Grace finds herself increasingly entangled with him, particularly after his intervention during her confrontation with Marc and Quinn. This rescue, while it makes her feel indebted to Jaxon, also deepens Grace's interest in him. She feels a profound sexual tension between them, ruminating that she was sure he was about to kiss her before he left her in the hallway. His cryptic warnings in Chapter 7, and the undeniable attraction she feels toward him in Chapter 9 also factor into this push-pull effect. She’s not sure whether she has a crush or if he’s just a profoundly irritating nuisance.
The author digs into the social landscape of Katmere Academy through Grace’s experiences in Chapters 8 and 9. She’s mortified to discover that her uncle is holding a welcome dance in her honor, and she is even more embarrassed when he insists on giving a speech on her arrival. Macy makes her wear a dress that she’s worried her “big boobs will fall out of,” and she feels completely alienated when she sees how split the student body is by social cliques. The party is a microcosm of the Academy's social hierarchy, with various groups standing in completely separate areas and ignoring each other. Grace's conversations with the other students are very unnerving, and everyone treats her like an outsider, which only confirms her fears that she will never fit in. The embarrassing incident with the Dr. Pepper, which is witnessed at close range by Jaxon and other students, amplifies how completely out of place she feels. She turns to Jaxon for company, but his apparent indifference to her immediately makes her feel much worse. In this section, we see the depth of insecurity that Grace struggles with, as the novel provokes sympathy for her with these repeated moments of subtle exclusion and bullying.
