67 pages • 2 hours read
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.
Before You Read
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
Valerie, fresh from Dr. Dentley’s care, sees her outpatient therapist, Dr. Rex Hieler for the first time. In stark contrast to Dentley and her previous therapist, Mrs. Tate, “Dr. Hieler’s office was cozy and academic—an oasis of books and soft rock music in a sea of institutionalism” (185). The office brims with games, refreshments, and decor rife with meaning, easy talking points for lulls in patient-doctor conversations. Hieler introduces himself to Valerie’s mother as “Rex,” and Valerie “flopped on the couch, watching Mom as she stiffly backed up and sat on the very edge of it, as if it would soil her” (186). Valerie’s mother proceeds to understate Valerie’s involvement in the shootingand downplays her relationship with Nick, which inflames Valerie. Her mother reacts by crying hysterically. Dr. Hieler mediates the discussion and welcomes Valerie to his practice.
Valerie wakes up the morning after her first visit with Dr. Hieler; when she goes downstairs, she sees Detective Panzella and panics. She’s anxious, unsure of herself since the shooting: “I fought the feeling of the world going out from under me, as it had countless times since my surgery” (191). However, the detective is there to tell her that she has been legally cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting.