Significance of Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the primary setting of the novel. Jessie moves to LA from Chicago with her father approximately two years after her mother's death. Los Angeles, in stark contrast to Chicago, is warm and sunny, though ironically Jessie initially finds the people to be shallow and unwelcoming. She frames many of the problems she faces in terms of her new city, and realizes that some of her problems fitting in are due in part to the different culture of the city.