Summary

In Chapter 21, Maxine formed a friend group with Selina and the rest of the debate team, Eric, Marcus, and Alicia. Meanwhile, Maxine and Marcus started dating. Marcus often invited her over. His parents tried to be kind to her, but Maxine often felt uncomfortable around them. However, she never felt self-conscious around Marcus. He seemed to accept her as she was. Then one day she saw him eating Golliwog, or Scallywag Biscuits at lunch. She and Selina confronted him about the biscuit’s racist shape and packaging, but he ignored their concerns. Not long later, Marcus made a comment about Maxine’s hands, insisting they looked like paws. Maxine pulled away from him thereafter.

In Chapter 22, “in the mid-nineties,” Maxine noticed “a shift in public and political sentiment around multiculturalism and immigration” (225). Many argued that multiculturalism should be abolished. On Multicultural Day...