The main character in this memoir-in-verse is the author, Jacqueline “Jackie” Woodson. She is born in the early 1960s and comes of age during a turbulent and important time in the Civil Rights Movement of the United States.

Her parents, Mary Ann and Jack Woodson, separate when she is young and she moves with her mother and two siblings, Odella (Dell) and Hope, to South Carolina, where she lives with her grandparents, Georgiana and Gunnar Irby.

Later she moves to New York City with her mother and siblings, including her newest sibling, Roman. At first, they live in the same building as her aunt, Caroline Irby (Aunt Kay), but after Aunt Kay dies they move to a different part of the city.

Another important character is Maria, Jackie’s best friend, who is originally from Puerto Rico. Jackie’s teacher, Ms. Vivo, also plays a very important part in the story because it is she who tells young Jackie that she is a writer.