Summary

Chapters 1 through 4 – As Ari’s summer begins, he starts working full time at the Charcoaler. At one point he and his mom have a sometimes banter-y, sometimes very pointed conversation about the man he’s becoming, half-joking about him quitting his job, about him becoming a bad boy, and how her concerns for him / thoughts about who he should be seem, to Ari, to make her “un-Mexican.” She comments in response that she’s “an educated woman. That doesn’t un-Mexicanize” her. Shortly afterwards, Ari and Legs discover that Dante has returned. The two friends embrace, commenting on how each other has changed physically and assuring each other that they will always be friends. They then go to visit Dante’s parents, who welcome Ari warmly. Ari has a sense that something in Mrs. Quintana has changed, and realizes how...