Jackson, Mississippi

This is where Mim's father and stepmother live with Mim, far from her previous home in Ohio. Mim is struggling here, partly because she misses her mother. Mim's nickname for the entire state is “Mosquitoland,” and she imagines that if the state fell into the sea a cloud of mosquitoes would remain, shaped exactly like the state. Though Mim hates the very idea of Mississippi at the beginning of the novel, she comes to realize that it is home by the end, mostly because of her changed attitude about her family. There are a few specific settings, including the school she attends and her home.

Independence, Kentucky

Mim leaves the Greyhound bus in Independence, mainly to avoid the creepy man but also to search for Arlene's nephew. This is where she meets Walt, who takes her to the camp he calls New Chicago. Mim winds up spending...