Bret Easton Ellis's first novel in 13 years, The Shards is a fictionalized memoir of Ellis's final year of high school in 1981 in Los Angeles. It was first serialized by Ellis as an audiobook through his podcast on PBS. The novel's narrator, Bret, relates the story of the events of his senior year in 1981, of he and his close circle of friends' acquaintance with new student Robert Mallory and the tragedy that followed.