Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of racially motivated violence.

The novel opens with Jezebel “Jez” Turner and her twin brother, James “Jay” Turner, who are 11 years old, at their grandmother’s funeral, where Jez narrates that in Gullah culture, “babies in the family get passed over the coffin so the dead person won’t come back from the beyond to take them away” (1). They stand next to their mom, Janey Turner, and their uncle, Doc Buzzard.

Many attend Gran’s funeral since she was a gifted rootworker and helped people with compresses and potions for snake bites and for luck. The pastor adds that Gran likely enjoyed hearing President John F. Kennedy’s recent speech calling for equal access to jobs and education for Black Americans.

Jez thinks about how she both misses Gran and also wants a better future, since things have been different since her father left. Her mother and uncle are both crying, but she tries not to, instead thinking about how Gran told her stories. Her favorite story was about boo-hags—night creatures with blue skin that could sneak through tight spaces.

When it’s her turn to throw dirt on Gran’s coffin, Jez squeezes the small doll named

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