New Jersey

The scenes set during Giselle and Jackie's childhood take place in New Jersey. The friends grow up in the Hoboken area. While other members of their Chinese, Malaysian, and Filipino community live in the city, Giselle's and Jackie's families "flighted to the suburbs, existing in an alternate reality of holidays and weekends, Thanksgiving turkeys with sticky rice, Chinese New Year parties with parents blotto and maudlin" (3). Giselle and Jackie originally connect when they attend the same Chinese school as children. They come in and out of one another's lives throughout the years following, although they live in proximal neighborhoods. Both of the characters leave New Jersey when they reach adulthood, and migrate to New York City.

Jackie's Apartment

Jackie's apartment is located in New York City. She lives here by herself. She enjoys living alone because she can hole up and focus on her work with Lene...