Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. Zora (Chapter 1)

2. Because her neighbors, Shoe and Check, urinate in the hallway (Chapter 2)

3. Sneakers that cost $120 (Chapter 3)

4. Zenna has the flu. (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Raspberry’s father had a drug addiction that caused her family to unravel; Raspberry’s father was violent to her mother; Raspberry and Momma have experienced homelessness, as well as living in a women’s shelter. (Chapters 1-4)

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. She overhears two elderly women discussing house-cleaning rates on the bus. (Chapter 5)

2. Because her parents already expect her to do a lot of work for their family food truck (Chapter 6)

3. Her love of money (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. Mai has a Black mother and a Korean father, but racial identity is a sore subject for her—she does not identify as biracial. Ja’nae thinks that that’s silly, and that Mai should, like their friend Ming (who is also Black and Korean) feel a sense of pride over her biracial identity. (Chapter 7)

Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. By making racist comments toward Mai (Chapter 9)

2.