Chapter 7 — Hazel in 1990: Summary 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.
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For the previous chapter, see Chapter 6 Summary.
For the next chapter, see Chapter 8 Summary.
This page is a study companion, not a substitute for the text itself.
All analysis is original and based on the events of this chapter.
If you are looking for a quick recap, the summary below is chronological and complete.
If you are preparing for a discussion or exam, the Key Events, Character Development, Themes, and Study Questions sections will help you focus on the most important elements.
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Summary
The chapter opens in December 1990, with Hazel, a ballet dancer recovering from knee surgery, waiting for her twin sister Jenny to return home from college for Christmas.
Hazel's first memory is of being in the womb with Jenny, a memory that surfaces whenever her pulse races.
She feels a phantom heartbeat layered over her own, a constant reminder of their twin bond.
Jenny arrives with her new boyfriend, Ansel, a philosophy student who is lean, bespectacled, and not the athletic type Hazel expected.
Hazel is struck by how different Jenny looks—older, more confident, wearing combat boots and a studded belt.
Ansel is polite but enigmatic.
Hazel notices that Jenny has not visited or called since Hazel's injury, and she feels a growing resentment.
At Christmas dinner, Jenny announces she will major in nursing, specifically labor and delivery, inspired by the nurse who saved Hazel at birth.
Hazel's parents are proud, but Hazel feels a flash of hatred.
That night, Hazel falls asleep recalling a childhood memory of Jenny encouraging her on the monkey bars.
On Christmas morning, the family exchanges gifts.
Hazel receives a set of fantasy novels and a sweater, a departure from the usual ballet-related gifts.
Ansel gives Jenny a vintage amethyst ring, which she slips on with a mix of thrill and embarrassment.
Hazel senses something off about the ring and the gesture.
During Christmas dinner, Hazel's father asks Ansel about his family, despite Jenny's warning not to.
Ansel reveals he grew up in foster care, his parents left when he was four, and his little brother died.
He then speaks about philosophy, citing Locke's idea that memory, not bodily continuity, defines identity.
He says there is no good or evil, only memory and choice.
Hazel is both fascinated and disturbed by him.
Later, Hazel vomits in the bathroom, overwhelmed by her hatred for Jenny and her own jealousy.
Jenny comes to Hazel's room to apologize for not visiting after the surgery.
She explains that she felt Hazel's injury through their twin bond—she was in the library and felt her own tendons snap.
Jenny also reveals that Ansel screams in his sleep, saying