Queens, New York

Queens, New York is one of the novel's primary settings. This is the borough of New York City where the girls grow up. The narrator describes the particular neighborhood in which they reside as "the dregs" of the borough, its "central road nicknamed the 'Boulevard of Death'" (3, 6). Despite these seemingly ominous descriptors, the girls love their home neighborhood as children. The borough is filled with scents, sounds, and sights. They share blocks with their friends, spending time on brick stoops, riding bikes in the street, or visiting the nearby Rockaway Beach together.

However, the older the girls become, the more eager they are to leave Queens. For many of the girls, Queens becomes a symbol of entrapment. They begin longing "for adventure, glamor, an escape from [the] neighborhood, or all of the above" (29). These girls attend high schools and colleges outside of the borough, and even...