Summary

Chapter 5 is titled “Everything Covered Me like a Second Skin.” In her narration, China describes how both she and Estreya kept growing, both physically and in terms of emotional maturity. She struggles to trust that this new future that seems to be forming is going to stay with her, and feels a range of changes as she and Liz continue on their journey. She feels both frightened of losing her new identity and fiercely attached to it, finding real love in her life for herself, for her dog, and her friend. The chapter concludes with a reference to the fact that they were heading “towards Indian territory, to the desert” (18).

Chapter 6 is titled “Under the British Empire.” At one point in their journey, China and the others cover themselves with a raincoat, Liz commenting that “the subjects of the British...