That Summer

“She is fifteen years old that summer, a thoughtful, book-struck girl with long-lashed hazel eyes and a long-legged body that still doesn’t completely feel like her own.”

The book opens with an description of an anonymous 15-year-old girl that is later revealed to be Diana. The description balances her internal, intellectual traits with an almost sexualized portrayal of her physical characteristics: a peculiar approach to a description of a child. The novel’s opening therefore provides a sense of how the book will progress, exploring ideas of bodily autonomy and sexual identity. The sentence also foreshadows that Diana’s body is beyond her own control; after her assault, it will take years for her to regain ownership of her own body and her sexuality, which she feels have been stolen from her.

“She has been waiting for this, waiting for him, since the day her sister gave her the yellow bikini; since the first day of that summer, since, maybe, the day she was born.”

In this quotation, the symbol of the yellow bikini is utilized to demonstrate Diana’s belief that she is moving from childhood to adulthood and is about to become initiated into the world of sex and love. She feels that her whole life has been building up to her night at the beach with Poe. In some respects, she is correct; however, that night will have an impact in ways she cannot yet imagine.