The novel’s protagonist, Fern is a 27-year-old librarian with a traumatic past. Fern believes she accidentally caused the drowning of a boy named Billy when she was 12, an event that continues to haunt her. After her mother Nina suffered incapacitating brain damage when she was 12, Fern and her twin Rose were placed in foster care. At the beginning of the novel, Fern is extremely close to Rose and dines with her three days a week. Fern has sensory processing issues, which means that she is extremely sensitive to sights, sounds, and smells. Because of these issues and her propensity to take statements literally, Fern often suffers self-doubt. She navigates the world through Rose, whose judgement she implicitly trusts. Fern believes she is incapable of caring for another person because of Billy’s death. Yet Fern’s complicated self-image is at odds with her excellent performance at work and the high esteem in which her colleagues hold her.

As the novel progresses, Fern begins to suspect that her perfect relationship with Rose may not be healthy. This change in Fern is catalyzed by her meeting a kindred spirit in Wally and through

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