Book 2, Chapter 9 Summary

Sophie is now eighteen. Her mother has been working even longer hours so that they can move to a house in a nicer neighborhood. Sophie's mother's hard work, as well as her own—for six years, she has done nothing but study and pray—has paid off. Sophie has been accepted into college.

Tante Atie once told Sophie that love was like rain. It comes in a drizzle at first. Then it starts pouring, and if you are not careful, it will drown you. Sophie experiences love firsthand when she meets her neighbor, Joseph. He is a musician, a much older Creole man from Louisiana who slowly—through a series of chance meetings when her mother is not home—wins her heart. She learns that he comes from a middle class New Orleans family, and that, when not playing in New...