Summarizer

Chapter 1-9 When the story started, Maya and her brother Bailey are at a train stop being sent to their grandmothers house. Their grandmother sold lunhes at four in the morning to laborers. Willie is diabled and act as the harsh parent of the family. Maya then learns that she loves to read, but she resents the fact tha her favorite author is white. When people from the town come looking for a black man who messed with a white women, Momma hides Willie, so they will not accuse him for it. Bailey constantly stands up for Maya when others call her ugly. He always insults the others who are insulting Maya. Three disrespectful white children come into the store, and make fun of momma, but in the end Momma wins the batle. When the Reverend visits, Maya and her brother fate it because he always eats the best part of the Sunday dinner. When the guy that was hiding in Momma's store was caught, she was called to testify. The whites made a big deal that she was refered to as Mrs. Henderson. "Mrs" is a title for white people. Maya and Bailey get a blond, blue eyed China doll from their parents, and then destroy it because they are mad at her for sending them away. Their father shows up to the store, and then takes them to St. Louis to see their mother. After they meet their mother, Big Bailey has to go out of town and leaves Maya and Bailey with her. Maya doesn't like this because she doesn't even know her mother that well.

Chapter 10-18 When Maya and her brother move to St. Louis, Maya is molested several times by Mr. Freeman. Maya spends most of her day in the library reading books. On the other hand, Bailey made lots of friends that he played basesball with. One night, Maya comes home and Mr. Freeman rapes her. He threatens her to kill Bailey if she screams. Afterward, Mr. Freeman sends her to the library but she comes home early because of the physical pain. When she comes home, Mrs. Vivian informs Maya that Mr. Freeman is moving out. When Bailey is cleaning, he finds the bloody underwear that Maya hid under her bed.

Chapter 24-30 (KEITH) Maya develops an excruciating toothache. The nearest black dentist practices twenty-five miles away, so Momma takes Maya to see Dr. Lincoln, a white dentist in town. During the Great Depression, Momma loaned money to many people, including Dr. Lincoln. Lincoln denies her service. Bailey returns home from an errand, pale and shaken. He asks what black people did to white people to incite so much hatred. He has just seen a black man’s dead, body pulled from a pond and a white man ordered Bailey to help load the man into the wagon. Although trained as a nurse, Vivian supports herself and her children by running poker games or gambling. Soon after, the U.S. enters World War II and Vivian marries Daddy Clidell, a successful businessman. The family moves to San Francisco. Maya comments on the changes that occur in San Francisco after the U.S. enters World War II. Provincial black migrants, not dissimilar to the people Maya knew in Stamps, flow into the city. The owner of numerous apartment buildings and pool halls, Daddy Clidell becomes the only true father figure Maya ever knows. She loves his strength and his tenderness. Big Bailey invites Maya to spend the summer with him and his girlfriend, Dolores. Dolores and Maya exchange letters and anticipate incorrectly each other’s physical appearance.