Easter Deetz has a huge chip on her shoulder about the failures of her family, particularly those of her parents, who she refers to as "The Mother" and "The Father." It's these dire circumstances that culminate in an event that traumatized Easter can only refer to as "The Terrible Thing," which sends her off to the woods. Easter becomes trapped under a boulder and begins to bleed out and her fragile psyche starts to shatter. As her life slips away and dark things encroach from the woods, the teen narrates the story of her losses and loves, most of which seem to radiate around her parents and her sister Julia. Or is this really happening at all? Easter is the quintessential unreliable narrator and readers are left wondering what elements of her story they can believe. .