Though never explicitly stated, the final chapter implies that the various stories told throughout the book are the recollections of a young boy in the Mexican migrant community based in Texas. Most chapters are narrated from his point of view, in both first and third person. Some (for example, Cchapter 13) stretch beyond what the boy could have known, while others (for example, Cchapters 10 and 12) could be stories he overheard from adults. This would explain the fragmented nature of the stories, which do not proceed in chronological order.

In the first chapter of the book, the boy begins reflecting on what he calls his “lost year,” though it may be longer or shorter than a calendar year (75). His narrative is fragmented, representing his own confused state, unsure of what actually happened and what he dreamedt. He saw and experienced many things that he is trying to make sense of, and each chapter and vignette vignette is tied to this purpose.

During his “lost” year, the narrator experiences racism (as when he is denied a haircut and punched by a white boy), witnesses or overhears things he does not understand (adults having sex in a dry cleaning shop, his parents debating whether to tell the children Santa Clause does not exist), and hears of

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