Jenna just got her first period and she wants the world to know. Only her mom won't let her have a period party and it's totally lame. She decides to throw one at her best friend Aimee's house, but Aimee has some plans for a first of her own.

By 2008, Michelle Kwan has retired, the International Judging System has replaced beloved 6.0 scoring, and America has stopped obsessing over figure skating. But for Violet, a fifteen year-old figure skater, skating is more than a fad – it is a calling that inspires and drives her. She races into a competition locker room one day after a terrible skate. It’s only a few weeks until Regionals, and Violet has been bombing all season. She’s in an emotional, irrational state, and her distant workaholic mother can’t get through to her. Violet needs to be flawless or quit; her perfectionism is running her life. Her friends, natural talent Krystal and ambitious Robin, don’t understand her anxiety. But all three of them begin to spiral when Jessie, their coach and de facto second mother Jessie tells them that she’s moving in a few months. As they attempt to navigate their changing lives, it’s revealed that Violet might be violent to herself in more ways than one. Spinny Twirly Things explores the pressures of womanhood, figure skating, and perfectionism,
until they become synonymous.