Asma comments that despite their best efforts, parents cannot control how their children turn out.

Nader suggests that beautiful people are always cursed with secret flaws.

Ustad says that many of their peers saw what happened as Rahmat’s downfall, which they had been eagerly awaiting.

Torpekey suggests that Zorah was disrespectful ever since she was little. Women warned Maryam about her behavior.

Aziza argues that the Sharaf family’s wealth made them arrogant. She contrasts Omer and Zorah against Laylee and Hamza, suggesting that the younger children know nothing of the hardship that their older siblings experienced. This hardship made Zorah easy to spoil, though Aziza clarifies that Omer was exempt from spoiling because boys “can’t really be spoiled the same way” (98).

Zarghoona suggests that Rahmat and Maryam spoiled Zorah so much that she developed a preference for luxury. Zarghoona concludes that Rahmat and Maryam made her into a “monster.”

Asma claims that when the Sharaf family settled into their Riverside house, Zorah claimed the primary bedroom, leaving her parents to occupy a small room. When her peers complained about this, Maryam merely laughed them off.

Torpekey adds that Rahmat and Maryam never made Zorah do any chores and acted like they were her servants. Rahmat and Maryam defended this by saying that they didn’t want to distract Zorah from her studies.

Mohsin theorizes that Rahmat permitted Zorah’s behavior because it was another sign of his success. He shares an anecdote about Rahmat expressing pride in Zorah after she asked him for a BMW.

Saif theorizes that it wasn’t the money that made the Sharaf family so arrogant but their assimilation into American culture. Rahmat raised his children to think more like Americans than Afghans, embracing events like the Fourth of July and Christmas. When Rahmat’s peers warned him against doing this, Rahmat dismissed them, saying that they should act as Americans do. This upset his peers.

Nader reports that the Sharaf family went as far as shedding their Muslim cultural identity, prioritizing personal wealth over religious practice.

Aziza blames Maryam for failing to raise Zorah properly. She distinguishes between families who are strict with their children and families who aren’t strict enough, indicating that most of their community aspires to be somewhere between these categories. Aziza complains about what she regards as Zorah’s immodesty and Maryam’s lax authority.

Torpekey echoes Aziza’s assessment.

Zorah’s friend An Mai compares the Sharaf household to Alcatraz.

Another friend, Hannah Owens, recalls that since the start of high school, Zorah was made to wear modest clothing, even wearing sweatpants in gym class while everyone else wore shorts. This contributed to the racism and ridicule that Zorah experienced from her peers.

Another friend, Melissa Boyer, elaborates on Hannah’s statement, adding that Zorah was forbidden from joining extracurricular activities like cheerleading, despite her enthusiasm for it. Zorah hosted sleepovers at her house but was forbidden from joining anyone else’s sleepovers.

An adds that Zorah was forbidden from expressing any awareness of boys, especially on her phone. She responded by talking endlessly about boys whenever she visited her friends’ houses.

Hannah remembers one time when Zorah was grounded just because Omer saw Melissa’s male cousins at her house when he came to pick Zorah up.

As an Asian American, An understands that Asian parents are generally reputed to be strict with their children, but she thinks Zorah’s parents were extreme.

Despite her parents’ restrictions, Zorah excelled at academics and joined extracurricular activities like the French club and yearbook. She was well liked in the school community and was generally considered pretty.

Hannah compliments Zorah’s unique sense of style, which she developed from faithfully reading Vogue magazine.

Fiona recalls that their friend group materialized in freshman year. Zorah helped the group overcome their initial anxieties over high school and frequently invited them to her house. To their surprise, Zorah’s friends found Zorah’s parents, especially Maryam, very pleasant. Fiona resents the way that Zorah’s family has been depicted in the news, considering how nice they all were.

Hannah remembers that things gradually went wrong with Zorah.

In junior year, Zorah lost interest in academics. She ridiculed her friends for wanting to prioritize their studies, though An suspected that she resented them for prioritizing parties that Zorah couldn’t attend over going to her house.

Around this time, Zorah’s style started becoming over the top and “trashy.” Hannah wondered how Zorah managed to leave home in her revealing outfits, but Zorah would hide them with sweaters before and after school.

Zorah assured her friends that her parents wouldn’t find out about the changes in her behavior. When her friends expressed concern over the way she was acting, Zorah became upset with them. Fiona resolved to stay friends with Zorah, hoping that she would eventually go back to being her usual self.

Principal Kathleen Graham talks about her school’s reputation as one of the country’s most prestigious public schools. She remembers that Zorah struggled through the latter part of high school, citing a specific incident where she stopped working on a classroom activity outright. Though Zorah resolved to improve her academic performance, she failed to follow through. Principal Graham reached out to Zorah’s parents for an intervention, during which they realized that Zorah was forging her report cards. This embarrassed Zorah’s parents, who agreed to employ additional measures to monitor Zorah’s academic progress. Privately, Principal Graham hoped that his would help them adjust their expectations of Zorah’s career trajectory.

Rahmat and Maryam confronted Zorah to understand her behavior. When Zorah explained that she wanted to become a makeup artist after college, Rahmat became upset with her. Sara and Omer tried to placate Rahmat, urging him to be patient and understanding. Rahmat became angry with Omer as well, blaming him for influencing Zorah.

Zorah’s academic problems remained a secret to the Sharafs’ peers until after Zorah died, when they were exposed in the news. Ustad knows that Rahmat’s ego would never have allowed him to discuss his problems with anyone. Ustad suggests, however, that these problems paled in comparison to what happened later.

Rahmat instituted several punishments, including barring Zorah from attending a school immersion trip in France. This increased Zorah’s resentment. Fiona promised to stay in touch with Zorah from France, but Zorah replied to none of her messages that summer.

Torpekey suggests that women are morally irredeemable.

Zarghoona compares the reputation of girls to white cloths that are easily stained. A girl’s reputation can affect her family’s reputation, undoing the legacy of her ancestors. This makes the shame of embarrassment feel worse than death.

Aziza reiterates that boys don’t damage their families’ reputations as easily as girls do. She ascribes this to God’s will and insinuates that this is true in American culture as well.

Asma recalls being scandalized by gossip over Zorah’s apparent sexual activity.

Aziza heard a similar rumor when her neighbor spotted Zorah on a date with a boy in the park.

Noorya heard a similar rumor from Torpekey, whose partner had seen Zorah hiding in the boy’s car.

Torpekey denies that she was the one spreading rumors about Zorah. She explains that while she was first to learn about Zorah’s relationship, she remained discreet about it out of modesty. She points to Zarghoona as having spread the rumor about Zorah at a wedding.

Zarghoona defends herself, declaring that her soul was purified through pilgrimage to Mecca. She adds that while she isn’t perfect, she takes moral law seriously. She explains that she was using the rumor as an example of how easily gossip can spread falsehoods. She was misinterpreted to be sharing gossip herself. She curses those who believe she had bad intentions.

Aziza recalls going to an amusement park with her family and seeing Zorah with her boyfriend. She describes the boyfriend as having unremarkable physical qualities. She posits that had the boyfriend been more attractive, it would have justified Zorah’s actions.