Point of View

The author changes point of view every chapter. Each character speaks a bit differently when contributing to the larger story. The following characters narrate chapters: Yessenia, Joanne, Michelle, Jimmie, Ricky, Mia, and Teddy. Joanne tends to use big words more than the others. The author tends to speak through her. Yessenia tends to mispronounce things. Mia slips in and out of Spanish and dances around things she does not want to talk about. Ricky habitually says the wrong thing. Teddy talks like he is the life of the party. He gets distracted very easily. Jimmie is very grounded because of some hardships she has had to endure. Michelle is probably the character who changes the most. In the beginning, she loves her job. By the end, she hates it and feels truly sorry for the kids in the system.

Language and Meaning

The author chooses...