Summary

Chapter 5, Shady Arbor Way, described Simone and Adria’s daily life in childhood. Every morning, Adam would play the song “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud” by James Brown while driving Simone and Adria to school. At the time, Simone just saw this as an upbeat song, but later realized Adam was also making the girls more confident in a largely white school district.

Simone’s parents were strict while she was growing up. She was only allowed to play on the cul de sac where they lived; she was not allowed to have sleepovers; and she could only have playdates with her cousins. Simone and Adria were extremely close and would play games together all the time. The girls were allowed to play with two of their neighbors, Marissa and Becca, and the four would pretend to...