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"I don’t want you to grow up too fast, baby,’ Jay says. ‘I did, and it’s not something I can ever get back. I want you to enjoy your childhood as much as possible."
"I’d rather grow up than be homeless."
"Hate that you even have to think like that," she murmurs.
This quotation, which occurs towards the beginning of Chapter Fourteen after Jay narrowly convinces the landlord not to evict her and her family, points to the innocence that Bri has already lost in her short life. Through grief, trauma, abandonment, and poverty, Bri has had to grow up too fast. Because of all the trauma Bri has endured—her father’s death, her mother’s abandonment, the attack by the security guards—Bri distrusts anyone else to take care of her and believes it’s her responsibility to save her family from poverty by gaining success as a rapper. Throughout the novel, although Jay works very hard to create stability for her children, their financial situation becomes increasingly precarious. Jay tries to provide a normal childhood for Bri, but Bri has already grown up more than Jay realizes.
