Summary

In Chapter 1, “The Cat's out of the Box,” Patricia “Sweet Pea” DiMarco is moving half of her possessions to her father's house. They live in Valentine, Texas, and Sweet Pea attends the Valentine Primary School. Sweet Pea's father, Andre DiMarco, has moved into a house that is almost identical to the house where Sweet Pea and her mother Liz live. Sweet Pea's friend, Oscar Rivera, is helping her move her things. While Liz says it is important that Sweet Pea sees neither Liz nor Andre as “the dominant parent,” Sweet Pea says it is easy to see that Liz is making the rules. Sweet Pea packs up one of the boxes and discovers that her cat, Cheese, is inside. She set the cat free and notes that the cat can hold a grudge. The house between Liz's house and Andre's house belongs to...