Jade begins her junior year at St. Francis on scholarship, dreaming of being nominated for the school's study abroad program.

Jade's guidance counselor offers her a spot in the Woman to Woman mentorship program instead of the study abroad program.

Jade and new student Sam bond on the 35 bus and begin eating lunch together at school every day.

At Jade's first Woman to Woman meeting, her assigned mentor Maxine never arrives and Jade walks out early.

Maxine shows up at Jade's house with art supplies to apologize for missing the Woman to Woman meeting.

Maxine abandons most of a Woman to Woman museum outing to take a lengthy phone call from her ex-boyfriend Jon.

A salesclerk at a mall clothing store singles Jade out for her purse while ignoring all the white shoppers.

Sam is selected for St. Francis's study abroad program to Costa Rica, leaving the overlooked Jade devastated.

At Maxine's family Soul Food Sunday dinner, Maxine's mother dismisses Jade to her face as a sob story.

Jade tells Maxine she feels like a charity case and demands that Woman to Woman start truly listening to its members.

Jade and Maxine make a deal: Maxine will end things with Jon permanently, and Jade will stay in the program.

E.J. tells Jade that a 15-year-old named Natasha Ramsey was hospitalized after police assaulted her at a house party.

Jade directly confronts her Spanish teacher Mr. Flores about his failure to nominate her for the study abroad program.

Jade and Lee Lee plan a community art show at Mia's gallery to raise awareness and funds for Natasha Ramsey.

The community art show opens to a packed gallery, with Natasha Ramsey's own parents among those in attendance.

Jade Butler begins junior year at elite St. Francis High School on scholarship, hoping to be nominated for a study abroad program but instead being enrolled in a mentorship program called Woman to Woman. Her assigned mentor Maxine gets their relationship off to a rough start by missing their first meeting, and the two struggle through an uneven dynamic in which Jade feels treated as a charity case. Jade's friendship with Sam grows, but it is tested when Sam receives the Costa Rica study abroad spot Jade desperately wanted, and when Sam refuses to acknowledge the racism Jade faces daily. After being humiliated at Soul Food Sunday by Maxine's family, Jade finally confronts Maxine and demands that Woman to Woman truly listen to its members. The turning point comes when news of Natasha Ramsey's police assault galvanizes Jade into action, leading her to confront her Spanish teacher about being overlooked and to plan a community art show in Natasha's honor. The novel culminates in a packed, triumphant gallery event — a testament to Jade's transformation from passive recipient of opportunities to active advocate for herself and her community.

Jade's journey from overlooked scholarship student to vocal self-advocate.

Jade's mother gives her annual speech urging Jade to make more friends at school and not rely solely on Lee Lee.

Lee Lee tells Jade about York, the enslaved man who played a vital role in Lewis and Clark's westward expedition.

When Jade visits Sam's home, Sam's grandmother makes openly racist remarks about the residents of North Portland.

Jade spends her birthday completely alone after Lee Lee, Sam, and her father all fail to show up.

Sam decorates Jade's school locker with balloons and an oversized card as a belated birthday surprise.

Jade's father apologizes for missing her birthday and gives her a digital camera and mini photo printer as gifts.

Maxine takes Jade to Powell's Books to buy art books featuring the collage work of Black artists.

Boys at Dairy Queen mock Jade's weight, and she channels her humiliation into a new collage when she gets home.

Sam visits Jade in North Portland and the two spend the afternoon at Lee Lee's cousin Andrea's house.

While photographing downtown Portland, Jade discovers a large mural on a building depicting Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, and York.

When Jade mentions a Woman to Woman Healthy Eating seminar to her mother, her mother erupts in fury at the condescension.

Sam asks Jade to help her pack for Costa Rica, and the two argue bitterly about jealousy and fairness.

Following Jade's suggestion, Woman to Woman holds a Money Matters financial skills workshop at a local community church.

Mr. Flores apologizes to Jade for overlooking her and tells her he has reserved her a spot in next year's study abroad program.

The novel closes with Jade imagining herself traveling freely alongside the historical York, both Black and fully liberated.

Pool 2 traces the significant but lower-profile moments that enrich and complicate Jade's junior year, beginning with her mother's annual speech about making friends and Lee Lee's eye-opening revelation about the historical figure of York. Visits between Jade and Sam reveal the racial dynamics at play even among close friends, while Jade's birthday — spent completely alone after everyone fails to show up — underscores how often the people in her life let her down. Jade finds creative inspiration in art books Maxine gifts her and in the photographs she takes around Portland, including a discovery of a mural featuring York himself. Tensions with Sam over the Costa Rica trip and with her mother over Woman to Woman's condescending Healthy Eating seminar reflect broader questions about who truly understands Jade's needs. By the end, Mr. Flores's apology and a reserved study abroad spot offer Jade the recognition she earned, and the novel closes with her liberating vision of traveling freely alongside York.

The quieter milestones that shaped Jade's world, friendships, and creative life.

Jade learns her uncle E.J. dropped out of college after his best friend was killed by gun violence.

E.J. recognizes Maxine as the girlfriend of his friend Jon when she visits Jade's home for the first time.

Jade's mother forbids her from going to brunch with Maxine after Maxine made plans without asking permission first.

At Thanksgiving dinner, a discussion of the holiday's colonialist history leaves the family in somber, heavy silence.

After the Art Museum outing, Jade confronts Maxine at a restaurant about her condescending comments about North Portland residents.

Maxine's friends reveal that Jon has been cheating on her, but Maxine still wants to reconcile with him.

A volunteer at the Oregon Symphony stereotypes the Woman to Woman group as ignorant of classical music, enraging Maxine.

Jade's mother forbids her from quitting Woman to Woman and urges her to learn what she can from Maxine's strengths.

Lee Lee visits Jade at home and urges her to speak up to Woman to Woman's leadership rather than walk away.

A school lunch lady sends Jade to the principal's office for a supposed attitude problem while a white classmate goes unpunished.

Jade, Lee Lee, and Lee Lee's cousin are gripped by fear as white police pull over a Black woman near Columbia Park.

Jade creates an emotional collage pouring out grief over racial injustice, police brutality, and the daily humiliations she has endured.

Maxine opens up to Jade about facing racial stereotypes despite her upper-class background, deepening their bond significantly.

Jade and Sam reconcile in Spanish class after Jade explains how Sam's dismissal of her experiences with racism is hurtful.

Lee Lee reads her poem titled 'Black Girls Rising' aloud at the community art show held in honor of Natasha Ramsey.

Pool 3 focuses on the hidden revelations and emotional confrontations that quietly drive the story's transformation. Early disclosures — including E.J.'s traumatic backstory and Maxine's entanglement with her ex-boyfriend Jon — set up the complicated dynamics Jade must navigate within her own mentorship. Key confrontations unfold as Jade challenges Maxine's condescension after the Art Museum outing, witnesses Maxine's friends expose Jon's infidelity, and pushes back against the racial stereotyping at the Oregon Symphony visit. The threat of racial violence looms large throughout, crystallizing when Jade and her friends are terrified by a police stop during spring break and when Jade makes a collage as an act of collective grief. By the novel's close, Jade and Sam have repaired their friendship through honest dialogue about race, and Lee Lee's poem at the community art show gives powerful voice to everything the story has been building toward.

The revelations and emotional turning points that reshaped Jade's relationships and sense of self.