Hannah struggles to define her identity in both narrative timelines. She desires a sense of belonging in the Oxford community as a student. She’s intimidated by her peers, many of whom feel far more entitled to being at Oxford than Hannah, and she often considers changing parts of herself to be more like her friends. In contrast to Hannah’s identity crisis while in Edinburgh, her struggles with identity at Oxford seem trivial. When touring her suite with November, Hannah remembers herself as being “[y]oung, happy, full of hope and promise, and so unbearably, unutterably innocent of all the horror that life could hold” (326). The narrative describes how “[s]he stands for a moment, looking at the shadow of the girl she left behind, bidding her goodbye. And then she lets the door close, and turns to face the present” (326). Although finding her place at Oxford is essential to Hannah while she is a student, it seems insignificant compared to the person she becomes after April’s death.

Hannah’s discovery of April’s body and the initial police investigation leave her with lingering psychological distress. The tragedy of losing her friend defines Hannah’s identity in the 10 years following April’s murder.