Chapter Six: Summary, Key Themes, and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The chapter opens the morning after Daisy's mother revealed the inherited house. Daisy meets her friend Megan at a bright, glass-walled breakfast restaurant, though the location is uncomfortable because the dead crowd around the windows, pressing their faces close to Daisy as she tries to ignore them. Megan immediately interrogates Daisy about her shaved hair, asking why she cut it, how she'll style it, and whether she'll wear wigs. Daisy pulls her hat lower and deflects.
Megan's family background is sketched: her Korean parents were raised in strict households that pushed them toward medicine and law, and they now have the money to let their own children pursue whatever they want. Megan's brother tags city walls and is praised for his artistic spirit; Megan spends hours dancing. Daisy reflects that Megan is easy to be around because she delights in life and doesn't care that other kids think Daisy is crazy.
Daisy's thoughts drift to Noah and Stephanie. She saw a photo on Instagram of the two of them sharing blueberry pancakes at a restaurant, and she recalls how Noah used to criticize people who photographed their food for clout. The memory is painful, and she snaps back to the present when Megan calls her name.
Megan asks about summer plans. Daisy mentions she might move up north. Megan is shocked and asks why. Daisy explains the house cannot be rented because of the will's restrictions, and if they don't take it, it goes to the government. Megan offers to have her lawyer father review the will, but Daisy declines, uncomfortable with the casual way Megan offers her family's expensive services for free.
Megan worries about Daisy missing prom and asks whether she'll return for university. Daisy says she doesn't care about school. Megan points out that Daisy's mom is strict about studying, and Daisy almost laughs, remembering the painful evenings her mother forced on her. She lies and says she doesn't care about her mom either. Megan sees through the act, telling Daisy that she pretends not to care about anything but actually cares so much about other people that she has no room for what she wants.
Daisy mentions her dad said he'd prefer she not go but gave no reason. Megan presses her lips into a line. The conversation turns to prom, and Daisy laughs sharply at the idea of missing it. Megan insists prom matters. Daisy reflects that she likes Megan because everything is simple with her.
After brunch, Daisy hugs Megan tightly and promises to text. She heads to Noah's apartment building on Parliament Street, a neighborhood she describes as rough, with people hanging around the stoop and the dead dragging themselves along the sidewalks, some reenacting their deaths. She waits in the shadows, having learned Noah's schedule by checking Dave's Instagram (Noah has no social media, but Dave documents everything).
When Noah arrives, he walks straight past Daisy without recognizing her. She grabs his arm. He's startled, then recognizes her. She tries to apologize for the fight over her age, saying Tara freaked out. Noah tells her they shouldn't have hung out, that Tara was right about Daisy being too young. Daisy protests that he always said age didn't matter. Noah says he knows she's mature for her age but other people don't get it.
Daisy asks how old Stephanie is. Noah says she's eighteen, actually eighteen, and accuses Daisy of social-media stalking. He tells her to get over herself and grow up, then walks away. Daisy shouts that she's moving up north. Noah responds sarcastically,