In the days that follow, Esch constantly battles morning sickness. At fifteen years old, Esch is pregnant with Manny's child. When Esch, Skeetah, and his friend, Big Henry-named so for his large frame-make a trip to the grocery store for dog food, Esch steals a pregnancy test and uses it when she arrives back home. She loves him and often compares herself and Manny to Medea and Jason, the Greek mythological couple infamous for betrayal and revenge.Ĭhina gives birth to a litter of puppies, with only one stillborn. Although Esch is no stranger to sex, having lost her virginity a few years ago to Skeetah's friend, Marquise, she feels that sex with Manny is different from her past affairs. Manny and Esch occasionally sneak away to have passionate yet unromantic sex, and Esch is concerned that she might be pregnant with his child.

Randall's friends, including his closest friend, Manny, often play basketball on the family's property, called the Pit. Esch's mother, to whom she refers as Mama, died giving birth to Junior seven years ago, leaving Esch to navigate a testosterone-fueled environment. Randall, Esch's 17-year-old brother, plays basketball with his friends, and her younger brother, Junior, hides under their porch. He has just learned of a bad hurricane approaching the Gulf Coast, and he is hell-bent on preparing for it.Įsch's brothers, however, are not concerned by Daddy's warnings. Outside the shed where China gives birth, Esch's father, to whom she refers as Daddy, hammers plywood onto every conceivable surface.

China belongs to Skeetah, Esch's 16-year-old brother, who treasures China like other men treasure the loves of their lives. Esch, a 15-year-old girl living in the fictional Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, is the novel's first-person narrator.Įsch begins the novel witnessing the dog China giving birth to a litter of puppies. They create a system of levers which can be used to create motion in the bodyĮach of the following sections contain quizzes on different areas of the skeletal system.Ward's novel is divided into twelve chapters, each corresponding with a day either preceding, during, or following the strike of Hurricane Katrina.

They provide a storage site for inorganic salts (e.g.

They contain and protect the red bone marrow.

They protect the organs within the body cavities from mechanical injury.

They provide a framework that supports the body.

There are 206 bones in a typical human body, providing a range of important functions :

Salvage of bones