Summary

In Chapter 1, “Sidewalks,” Andrés decides to attend his twentieth high school anniversary. He has never had any interest in attending these events, because he fears “reviving the past” (2). This year, however, he goes because he is in town helping his elderly parents.

Though there are no sidewalks, Andrés walks to the event. He considers backing out at the last minute. His “indecisiveness would have amused” his late brother, Henry (6). He remembers things Henry said to him. As cars pull in, Andrés realizes escape is now impossible.

In Chapter 2, “Suburbs,” immigrants flooded “to this town by the thousands” (8). The first were Italian and Irish. Then the Germans and English came. They created communities based on their common desire for “privacy and control over their destinies” (9). When Black and Brown immigrants moved in, they were suspicious.

Andrés’s parents Álvaro and...