Summary

Sam Arthur worked the snack counter on the ferry that “loop[ed] around San Juan Channel’s scattered islands” during tourist season (3). She hated the job and felt invisible to the wealthy tourists. She and her sister Elena planned to save money and get out of San Juan together. However, she only made a little over minimum wage and saving was difficult. After high school a decade prior, Sam had dreamed of a salary she and Elena could count on, but she had not gotten any of the good jobs she had applied for. Expenses were tight for the family, because the sisters’ mom was sick and Sam had been unable to work throughout the pandemic. Sam had returned to the galley a month prior, because Elena’s job could not support them all.

Once their mom died, Sam and Elena intended to...