Chapters 1 & 2 Summary

The novel opens with Yolanda thinking about the two terrible things that have happened recently. First, a kid came into school with a gun and shot his fellow students and teacher. One kid, Willie Meredith is now dead. The second terrible thing is Momma finding a tiny bag of cocaine in seven-year-old Andrew's pocket. He got the drugs from some pushers at the playground who said it would help his Momma, who is always tired. Andrew didn't know the bag contained drugs. After these two terrible things, Momma decides to move her family away from Chicago to a much safer neighborhood in Grand River, Michigan.

In Michigan, Yolanda feels sad almost all the time. She doesn't have any friends in this new city and she misses the familiar smells, sounds, and tastes of her Chicago. The only thing that gives Yolanda any comfort...