Summary

In Chapter 9, Mai’s older brother, Quang-ha was a troublemaker but Mai was not. Mai accompanied her brother to his counseling sessions, then they would walk to Happy Polish Nails, the salon their mother owned. Their mother had been outcast by her Vietnamese family because she was the child of a black American soldier. She was given a chance in America as a teenager where she went to live in California. She changed her name from her Vietnamese name, which was Dung to Pattie. She had two children with a Mexican who left them, claiming to go visit a sick brother but never coming back.

Instead of giving Quang-ha a real session, Dell had assigned him to complete three pages of a geometric coloring book, and then left, claiming he was going for a soda. He returned instead with a pet carrier after...