“Today I moved to a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water” 

Right at the start of the novel, Moose’s sour attitude towards his new home is obvious. His tone is sardonic while establishing the novel’s setting.

“The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don’t want…You get to Alcatraz (AKA: Devil’s Island) by being the worst of the worst” 

Further to the quotation above, Moose does not forget to mention the company he keeps on Alcatraz Island. Living close to the prisoners makes him somewhat of a celebrity at school because it is so dangerous, but he sees this as just another reason to hate his new situation.

“A haze rises from the bay like a wall of gray closing me off from everything” 

Moose’s description of the weather parallels the dark mood and sense of isolation that he feels living on Alcatraz Island. It is no wonder that in the first portion of the novel he is longing for home.