Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of racism, antigay bias, death, graphic violence, and sexual content.

“This isn’t a mystery or a legend. It’s a story about leaving. It starts with my body. My body is a map of the world.”

In the Prologue, Diamond prepares the reader for the story that is about to unfold. Her mention of her body reflects how her skin color and weight both single her out as different from other people who live in the town. Targeted by racism and feeling isolated in the all-white town, Diamond’s experiences throughout the novel are rooted in her body’s Blackness and size. However, likening these qualities to a “map” implies that they will also help her place in the world and a way out of Swift River.

“On either side of my bed, I have pictures of portholes I tore from a book, Cabin Class Rivals: A Picture History. They almost look real if you turn away quickly. The rest of the wall is covered with pictures of places I want to visit: the pyramids in Egypt, Stonehenge in England, the redwood forest, the New York Botanical Garden. ‘Why go all that way to see plants and trees? We have those!’ Ma says.”

Diamond’s collection of destinations she wants to see someday demonstrates the strength of her desire to leave Swift River and find a life for herself away from the town. By hanging them up in her room, Diamond keeps her focus on her goal and distracts herself from the realities of her difficult life in Swift River, where she and her mother lack money and transportation and where Diamond faces racism.

“[Sweetie] never forgave his father for taking Robbie away from her, especially to go to Swift River, of all places. Hating that town is like inheriting your granddaddy’s eyes—it’s in the Newberry DNA, crouched down inside every cell.”

In this letter to Diamond, Lena alludes to the complicated relationship that Diamond’s family has with Swift River. The racism multiple generations of her family experienced in that town drove most of her family away, yet Diamond finds herself still trapped in Swift River.