One of the primary themes is the idea of innocence being lost. In the beginning of the novel, Baby is twelve and very aware that her childhood innocence is a valuable thing. Despite the iniquitous and often violent environment that surrounds her, she clings to her innocence like a life raft. This is what allows her to not let the knowledge of Jules’s heroin use drown her. In the first section, he refers to heroin as “chocolate milk” (10) in an attempt to shield Baby from the reality of what he’s doing. Although Baby knows what he’s referring to, her innocence allows her to accept him how he is and love him unconditionally. Concerning this idea, she says, “When you’re young enough, you don’t know that you live in a cheap lousy apartment. A cracked chair is nothing other than a chair” (184).

In the beginning, Baby distances herself from people and situations that try to take her innocence. This can be seen when Marika, an older neighborhood girl that Baby used to look up to, tells Baby that she’s been prostituting. Baby is aware that sex and prostitution are adult things, and that once she dips her foot into those pools, she can no longer be a child.