EAU (Emergency Assistance Unit)

The EAU is where Tyrell must go when his family needs social services. The agency assigns them to temporary housing and coordinates their eventual move to permanent housing. Tyrell dreads receiving news from the EAU because he knows how long the housing process can drag on.

Bennett Motel

The Bennett Motel is the setting for the bulk of the novel where Tyrell is placed in temporary housing with his mother and brother. The motel is dirty and cockroach-infested, so Tyrell grows more desperate to earn money to get a new apartment. The motel is filled with families in need.

The Bronx

The Bronx is a less-developed setting in the novel because Tyrell does not spend a lot of his time there. He only goes to the Bronx to meet with the other young men he does business with. He also holds the party in the...