Esche

Esche is a teenage girl who grew up in an extremely poor family without a mother. Her father, Daddy, is an alcoholic, and her brothers Skeetah and Randall, both do what they can in order to look after her. She is intelligent, and very interested in mythology, but began having sexual relationships with boys at the age of twelve, and discovers that she is pregnant very close to the start of the novel. She feels that she is in love with the child's father, Manny, who is another teenage boy, and she has not been with anyone else since they began having sex. She tries to hide her pregnancy from the rest of the family, though it becomes increasingly clear that Skeetah is aware of it, and when it is finally revealed to her father, he apologizes for not having done his role and insists on her going...