Summary

In first person, present tense narration, teen protagonist Judy sets the time of the story as the mid-1950’s; describes how her father has been an active member of the Communist Party and labor movements ever since she was a girl; how her family home in the Bronx (New York City) always seemed to be hosting meetings between her father and his comrades; and how the group moved together to California in the aftermath of her father, and his best friend Lou, being arrested. She also describes her mother’s death when she (Judy) was five, and how frustrated she gets with her father’s constant job losses (related to his party affiliation and union organizing), and also describes the bombing drills that take place at her school (how she and the other students are instructed to “duck and cover”). Finally, she...