Summary

Opening the novel is an epigraph that indicates that the new world is not much different from the old world.

A quarter moon symbol marks the first section of the novel, a quote by Nanny Tag giving instruction on a sort of charm. She said the moon would tell, though the listener might not like what it had to say.

D’aron had been called a variety of names ranging from faggot and sissy to brainiac and Little Mays. It was not until he was in college that he became just plain Daron. In his speech as the valedictorian of his class he talked about the opportunities available to them to put Braggsville on the map.

In Chapter Two, after being the smartest kid in his class, Daron was surprised when he was not called on at all in his college classes...