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Pg 129-132
After a month of travels, with detour to the Alamo, the family arrives in Welch, at the home of Erma, Dad's mom. Erma lives with her husband and Dad's brother, Uncle Stanley. -
Pg 133-135
Welch, West Virginia is divided in half by the Tug River, a river with the highest level of fecal bacteria in North America and the Walls family is up Tug Creek without a paddle. Welch is a dump, but Mom is excited that there aren't any other artists in Welch. No competition. -
Pg 136-139
Jeannette is enrolled in Welch Elementary where she makes a new friend: a tall black girl who stabs Jeannette with a pencil. Jeannette tries to defend herself against the bully, but it's no hope. The girl and her friends torment Jeannette every day. -
Pg 140-144
One day after school, Jeannette helps a little lost boy find his way home. After seeing Jeannette help the boy, Dinitia become friends with Jeannette. Jeannette doesn't like the way Erma talks about black people, so Jeannette defends her friend at dinner. -
Pg 145-148
Mom and Dad return to Phoenix to check on the house they left behind and bring some of their stuff back across the country.
With Mom and Dad gone, Erma becomes even grouchier.
And, even worse than being cranky, Erma molests Brian.
Jeannette catches Erma and yells at her and they both get into a fight. Erma won't allow the kids upstairs anymore, so they have to use the storm door to get in and out of the basement. When Dad returns, he is furious at the kids for what happened. -
Pg 149-154
Mom and Dad move out of Erma's house and take the kids with them. Their new house might be the worst house the family has lived in. There's no bathroom. The kitchen has faulty wiring that electrocutes people. The ceiling leaks. -
Pg 155-158
Jeannette and Brian dig a hole for a foundation because Dad says he will build a real house on the property. Soon, so much garbage builds up that the family needs somewhere to put it. -
Pg 159-163
One day, a girl from school named Kathy Pastor makes friends with Jeannette and invites her over for dinner. Before dinner, Jeannette helps Ginnie Sue pick a chicken. Jeannette learns that whoring puts chicken on the table—and chicken on the table is something her own family never has. -
Pg 164-167
Jeanette and Brian make a new enemy, Ernie Goad. Ernie teases the kids, saying they live in garbage. It hurts because it's true. However, Ernie goes too far when he throws rocks through one of the few windows the Walls family actually has. Brian and Jeannette come up with a revenge plan. They build a catapult from a mattress, some ropes, and a tree. The catapult works, sending an avalanche of rocks on Ernie and his gang. -
Pg 168-170
One night, Dad comes home with a big bloody gash in his arm. He makes Jeannette sew it up. Dad says he's proud of Jeannette, but the next night, he's gone again. -
Pg 171-174
Without money, Jeannette again resorts to scavenging for food. The whole family seems to be wasting away, except Mom. Brian pulls back the sheets in Mom's bed and finds she's been eating Hershey chocolate. The kids are steamed that they're all starving while Mom gorges herself on chocolate. -
Pg 175-179
It's cold, and the family doesn't have heat, but the kids collect bits of coal off the street and it's never enough to generate a good amount of heat though. One time, the family splurges on a visit to the Laundromat, and it's so warm there that Jeannette wishes she could stay. The family often burns wood to make heat, but when the snow starts to melt, the wood in the forest gets wet and hard to light. So they douse it with kerosene to get a fire started.