Early on in the book, the headmaster of a school is implied to have sexually assaulted the teenage girls who attend it in the past. In Chapter 19, the headmaster attempts to gently pressure the main character (Silas) into admitting to misbehaviour. When Silas repeatedly denies the accusations, the headmaster gets incredibly aggressive, and it’s heavily implied that he raped and/or forced Silas into sexual acts. The main character is shown to dissociate after the events as one of the students comfort him, but the actual events are not described. Silas is a transgender male, but is perceived as female by everyone around him and is shamed through physical and sexual abuse into hiding it by the headmaster, which may be especially uncomfortable for some readers.