Summary

Chapter II begins with an email from George to Phoenix, telling her that Aisha has identified a liquid that was in with Rain’s belongings as “potassium permanganate, a type of disinfectant” (37). He is reading a “manuscript” Phoenix has written about her family’s experience in the war. Then, Part 1 begins, relaying Phoenix’s childhood in China. She was an only child and was often lonely. Her father seemed to be very strict and controlling, and his relationship with Rain is likened to moving “in different orbits” (43).

Part 2 describes Phoenix’s father, Wang Erwa. He came back from Korea a war hero, but he was also left with a “dent…in his mental and physical functions” (44). His nickname becomes “Dumb Head” (44). When Phoenix (whose Chinese name is Yuan Feng) tells her mother, she shows up to school with “something hanging on a ribbon...