Summary

In the Prologue, Diamond Newberry’s father Robert Newberry, or Pop, disappears in July of 1980. Two days later, they find his sneakers on the riverbank where the Swift River is deepest (1). Diamond, Pop, and her mom Annabelle Newberry, or Ma, used to swim here together. The cops drag the river but never find his body. A few months later, Diamond starts fourth grade and life starts returning to normal. She is the smartest in her class and “the only Black person at school” (2). Now that Pop is gone, she is also the only Black person in Swift River. For a time, the family wonders if Pop was killed by a racist or if he “faked his own death” (3). Years later, he is still considered missing.

Diamond remembers driving around with her parents when they had money for gas. They lived with Ma...