Summary

Chapter 16 opens with a letter from Mia's cousin Shen who still lives in China. Shen's family has moved to a better area of Beijing, but he still faces derision. Mia knows Beijing is divided into eight rings with the inner rings being reserved for the very wealthy. Everyone was “snobby” toward people from rings farther out. Mia considers this a ridiculous example of how people find ways to look down on others. Lupe calls with news that her grandmother died. Her mother has returned to Mexico despite the worry that she might not be able to cross back after the funeral. Mia draws pictures in keeping with a Chinese custom to provide the dead with what they need for the afterlife.

In Chapter 17, Lupe is pleased with Mia's drawings. In class, everyone is talking about the article about Mia's family and the Calivista...