Tony

Apart from the Prologue, Tony’s perspective begins and ends the novel. Tony Loneman is a 21-year-old Cheyenne man living in Oakland with his grandmother, Maxine. He has fetal alcohol syndrome—which he calls “the Drome”—courtesy of his mother, who has been in prison since he was small. He stays positive about this aspect of his identity, seeing it as a tool that shows him what people truly think: the moment after they react to his face, their masks drop and he sees what they want and feel. He also believes that his large and strong physique is compensation for his face. Nevertheless, Tony does want wider recognition for something other than the Drome: “Maybe I’m’a do something one day, and everybody’s gonna know about me. Maybe that’s when I’ll come to life. Maybe that’s when they’ll finally be able...