Benjamin Alejo

Ben Alejo is one of the two narrators of the novel, as well as one of the two main characters. The novel begins with Ben’s perspective, as is the first of the two epilogues. Ben is from a Puerto Rican family who live in a neighborhood in Manhattan. Despite this, Ben can pass for white. Ben and his family are not struggling for their meals, but they do have to live on a tight budget. Therefore Ben remains in New York to attend college. Ben feels like he does not know the city the way other lifelong New Yorkers do, but he demonstrates that he is comfortable navigating the city by himself. Because he has lived his entire life in New York, Ben is itching to leave the city, which almost leads him to follow Mario to Los Angeles. It also leads to him following Arthur...