Plot Overview
Maya tells how her grandmother ran a store in Stamps and reveals how white people angers her. Maya even goes to describe a time where white girls were mocking her grandmother and that situation made Maya fueled with anger from the girls’ actions. Maya wrote about when the depression hit Stamps and how it led to making it hard for her grandmother to make ends meet especially with having to care for Maya and Bailey. She describes some hardships that her grandmother had to face and told about how she kept the store running through a system of trade due to no one buying from the store, meaning she would trade off goods to people for goods she was in need of.
In December when Christmas came, Maya wrote about how she and Bailey received gifts from their parents who did not keep contact with them all the years when living in Stamps. She describes the gifts only reminded her and Bailey about how they were basically given away and felt very unwanted. A surprise to Maya and her brother would soon come as their father arrived in Stamps just the very next year and it was very emotional for both Maya and Bailey. He had come to say how he wanted to take his children back with him and this made them feel wanted and joyous inside, but what they did not know was that his intentions was to leave them once again but this time with their mother who they hardly even know. Sadness over takes Maya and Bailey but after some time with their mother it helps with the pain their father again caused. Moving to a huge city was very different from Stamps and Maya talks about her family who she had never met before including her other grandmother, and her three bad tempered uncles. Maya and Bailey lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend who’s name was Mr.Freeman. Later, Maya revealed that Mr.Freeman molests Maya. Maya was scared due to Mr.Freeman telling her she would kill Bailey if she ever said a word, causing her to stay quite for along time. Mr.Freeman then goes on to rape Maya when they were alone at their home. While being both physically and mentally unstable she remained silent.
When Maya’s mother came to find out about the horrific situation she demanded Mr.Freeman to leave but Maya remained silent. Soon her brother and mother would come to find out exactly was happened to Maya. Mr.Freeman was soon arrested and put on trial. Maya still was determined to keep her silence and even comes to lie at trial stating Mr.Freeman did not rape her as she was still scared of the threats he made to her about her brother’s death. Maya describes that the lie made her feel so badly that she stopped communicating with everyone except her brother.
Soon, Her and Bailey were sent off back to Stamps and Maya believed it was due to her keeping her silence. Maya was never the same and kept to herself even after moving back to Stamps. One of the best things that happens to Maya was meeting Mrs.Flowers who tells her that speaking is important. She gives Maya some books and tells her to read them out loud, by doing this Maya regains her will to finally speak again and describes that the attention she was getting from Mrs.Flowers was enjoyable as she finally felt as she mattered to someone. Growing up Maya faces a lot of situations that she learns from, she describes how she started to work and hating her boss as she would not call Maya by her real name. Maya also wrote about how her brother made bad decisions like stealing for Joyce a girl who he had met who was older than him and also who was poor but then suddenly she left with someone else she met.
Again, Maya and Bailey were sent to live in California. This time, with her grandmother baxter and two uncles in a apartment in Oakland. Soon, they would move to San Francisco and for the first time Maya describes that San Francisco felt as if she was home. Maya faces intense racism but tells how she had a hard time at school. With many hardships that came along as she was in high school Maya wrote about getting a job once again and is hired as the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Feeling independent she goes back to attending school. Maya felt as if she could not relate to anyone due to what she describes is her awkward body, and with that came thoughts of her beginning to believe she was a lesbian even though she hardly had an idea of what that exactly meant. She turns to her mother for guidance to help her understand why she was feeling this way. Her mother’s advice and statements were not enough to convince Maya to be sure of herself and did not help her believe she was what Maya called normal. Maya comes to have a boyfriend and she has sex with him in attempt to discover herself and to find out what she liked and did not like. She stated she had no pleasure from the experience and later she comes to find out she is pregnant.
