Chapter 1
* Summary: Introduces a group of boarding school students at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic institution. Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are close friends. They engage in their favorite pastime, "rolling around," which involves touching and caressing each other.
* Real example: "We rolled around that day, all three of us together, like it was the best thing in the world."
Chapter 2
* Summary: The students attend a mandatory medical appointment where they learn about their true purpose: they are clones created to be organ donors.
* Real example: "We were going to be looked after until we began to donate, and then we'd complete."
Chapter 3
* Summary: The students grapple with the revelation. Some, like Tommy, are horrified and rebellious. Others, like Ruth, are resigned and accepting.
* Real example: "Ruth, by this time, was crying. Just silently, eyes screwed up. Because, she said, it meant everything was different."
Chapter 4
* Summary: Kathy narrates her memories of childhood and her affection for Tommy and Ruth. She remembers their dreams of being taken away from Hailsham.
* Real example: "I used to imagine us all being chosen together, and then what we'd do when we got away from Hailsham."
Chapter 5
* Summary: After "completing" (donating their first organs), the students are transferred to the Cottages, a transitional facility. They are paired up in "couples." Kathy is paired with Tommy.
* Real example: "And what they'd say, when the pairings were announced, was nothing like the words I'd imagined for so long."
Chapter 6
* Summary: Kathy and Tommy's relationship deepens as they spend time together at the Cottages. However, their "deferrals" (delayed donations) are threatened when Ruth falls ill.
* Real example: "It was more than I'd been allowed before, but it still felt like next to nothing. It was so good."
Chapter 7
* Summary: Tommy and Kathy discover a secret enclave of Hailsham students who have formed a rebel group. They plan to escape and live a life of freedom.
* Real example: "Ruth stepped out and put a hand up to her mouth like she was trying to stop herself from crying."
Chapter 8
* Summary: Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth join the rebel group and make their escape. They live a temporary life of freedom, but their happiness is overshadowed by the knowledge that their time is limited.
* Real example: "We had a great time. Just getting to know the three of us, without anyone else around."
Chapter 9
* Summary: Ruth's condition worsens, and the rebel group is forced to return to the Cottages. Tommy and Kathy confront the futility of their struggle and accept their fate.
* Real example: "She put her head down, but she couldn't stop shaking. I took her hand and held it, and after a bit she stopped and gave me this tiny smile."
Chapter 10
* Summary: Kathy donates her final organ and completes. She looks back on her life with a sense of acceptance and gratitude.
* Real example: "I remember thinking, at the very end, that everything had really been for the best."
