Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi is one of the novel's primary settings. In Book One, this is the city where City lives with his mother, and attends Fannie Lou Hamer Magnet School. After City loses the Can You Use That Word in a Sentence contest, his mother sends him away from Jackson to stay with his grandmother in Melahatchie.

In Book Two, City has just moved to Jackson from Chicago with his mother, and is still orienting to life in the new city.

Melahatchie, Mississippi

Melahatchie, Mississippi is the primary setting for the novel. In Book One, after City loses the Can You Use That Word in a Sentence contest, his mother sends him to Melahatchie to stay with his grandmother for several days.

Shortly after arriving, City remarks on the atmosphere of the town and his grandmother's house. Ever since Hurricane Katrina, City feels that in Melahatchie, "time went...