Shark Heart: A Love Story

During the summer of her junior year, Wren took a theology class and became enamored with its instructor, a doctoral candidate named Rachel. After the class ended, the two women struck up a romantic relationship. Wren adored Rachel but struggled to hide her relationship in the heteronormative environment of her sorority house, and she started to worry when Rachel insisted they go on a poorly planned road trip to California together. On the trip, Rachel confronted Wren about her inability to share information about her personal life and past.

In the present day, Wren begins a reserved friendship with Tiny Pregnant Woman. They bond over their shared struggle with anticipatory grief in the face of incurable mutations. Lewis’s physical condition is increasingly deteriorating, and Wren is disturbed by how much he now resembles a great white shark. The school fires him, citing parental fears over safety, and Lewis has his first violent outburst at home. Wren hides behind their kitchen counter in fear. She begins to fear that Lewis will fail to recognize her soon.