The It Girl

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-9

Chapters 10-23

Chapters 24-35

Chapters 36-47

Chapters 48-56

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Background

Social Context: Defining an “It Girl”

Although April’s identity is more complex than the “It Girl” persona she leans into, she plays the part well. An It Girl is a socialite who balances being fun and fabulous with being glamorous and desirable. It Girls are attractive, but without trying too hard. Their beauty is somehow unique and never stereotypical. An It Girl would never also be the girl next door or prom queen. Sex appeal oozes from It Girls, though their notoriety doesn’t depend at all on their sex lives. It Girls tend to have impeccable style and taste, but although they set trends, they’d never admit to being trendsetters. At the same time, It Girls are just as appealing when dressed casually because their defining qualities have to do more with their inquisitive yet blasé personalities than with style.

Historically famous It Girls are primarily young, skinny, blonde, and white. They represented popular ideas and preoccupations when they peaked as It Girls. It Girls from past generations are memorialized in popular, artsy photos and occasionally songs. Modern It Girls have an impressive social media presence with thousands of followers. Ware uses April to demonstrate a new era of It Girls on Instagram. April was one of the app’s first users, and her pictures are a carefully collected “slew of designer clothes, boys in tuxedos, and shots of herself drinking champagne from the bottle and pouting at the camera” (68). While Hannah supplies insight into the more nuanced layers of April’s character, April embraces her It Girl reputation.

This context references the following source: Smith, Raven. “What Is It About an It Girl?” Vogue, 2023.

Regional Context: Oxford University’s College System

Oxford University has 44 colleges that operate independently. Each college has its own buildings, including dormitories, libraries, meeting rooms, eateries, and pubs. Like Dr. Myers, professors can be associated with Oxford’s specific colleges, living alongside students and acting as advisors. Separate from a student’s academic major, the colleges facilitate a smaller community setting while still being a part of the prestigious, worldly university. Organized activities, such as intercollege sports and drama, encourage Oxford University students to socialize with those residing in different colleges.

Some of the more famous colleges within Oxford are Worcester, Lincoln College, and Balliol—where Emily is a professor. While no official ranking system exists for the colleges, Oxford students are known to categorize and rate the colleges as they see fit. Hannah discusses Pelham’s reputation for housing more competitive academic students, and though Pelham is fictional, her favoritism of her college accurately depicts a typical Oxford student’s pride in their college. The architecture and landscape described in the novel’s setting allude to Oxford’s many famous Gothic and Baroque buildings.

Genre Context: Dark Academia

Dark academia refers to a subculture and aesthetic reflected in literature, film, and other media that romanticizes the more gothic elements in a university setting in movies and literature. Aided by social media, particularly TikTok, dark academia grew in popularity in the late 2010s and early 2020s. The subgenre features characters who attend reputable schools like Oxford University while studying the arts. Users post videos of themselves wearing traditional prep school clothes from the 1930s and 1940s, drinking tea or coffee, and studying the classics. In The It Girl, Hugh embodies the dark academia aesthetic more than the other characters. He has a traditional prep school look given his formal wardrobe, floppy bangs, Stephen Hawking-style glasses, and skinny build.

As the name implies, dark academia novels often contain grim literary elements. The characters are moody, and the settings feature historical buildings with Gothic architecture. Narratives usually occur in autumn, and much of the plot happens at night. In dark academia, witchcraft, supernatural elements, crime, and disturbing psychological elements are common. Some popular dark academia titles include The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, and These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever.