Assess Beyah’s reaction when she finds her mother dead with a needle still in her arm. What about Beyah’s life and experience makes her able to leave her home, community, and state so quickly?

Is Beyah a character you root for? Why or why not? What traits and actions make Beyah sympathetic, and which ones make her harder to support?

How are the differences in social class and the realities of life in poverty reflected through the characters of Sara and Beyah?