58 pages 1 hour read

Salma El‑Wardany

These Impossible Things

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022

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Chapters 19-26

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 19 Summary: “Jenna”

Jenna has surprised herself by keeping her relationship with Mo relatively private—she always expected that she would post all about it on social media when she had a partner her family approved of. She finds this privacy helpful when it comes to changing herself for Mo. She quits the play and hides her bisexuality when she suspects these things displease him. She rationalizes that she has spent her life doing things to please her parents, which makes this no different.

When Mo asks if she and Lewis have ever had a sexual relationship, she lies and says they have only ever kissed. Mo still disapproves of their friendship; he reports that he has cut off contact with anyone he dated previously after he and Jenna decided to officially date. He insists, despite Jenna’s protests, that Lewis must secretly desire her. He then tells her he loves her for the first time and “desperately” asks if she loves him in return. She says she does.

Chapter 20 Summary: “Bilquis”

In the wake of her announcement about being engaged to Harry, Kees’s family stands in protracted, shocked silence. Her father eventually insists she must break off the engagement. When Kees refuses, her mother lashes out, telling her that she will no longer be welcome in her family home if she marries Harry.