Maya's and Alex's House

Maya's and Alex's house is in New Jersey and it is very close to his parents' house. Much of the activity in the first half of the book takes place here and as Maya is afraid to drive too far away from it, when she is not working, she is there. For Maya, the house also symbolizes a prison. She rushes out once when Max is a baby because she just has to get out. Max mirrors her feelings when he says he ran away because he needed to get away. At the end of the novel, Maya is ready to return to the house. It is interesting to note, though, that she does not return, as her journey is not yet over.

The City Bus

Maya takes the city bus with the number that Max's classmate saw him taking. It takes her on a...