Amy Anne Ollinger is a nine-year-old Black American girl who lives with her family in a subdivision in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her family members include her parents and her two younger sisters, Angelina, age 5, who devotes time and energy to her goal of being a pony, and Alexis, the “middle sister” (21), who practices ballet daily on Amy Anne’s side of the bedroom they share. Flotsam and Jetsam are the family dogs, two Rottweilers who add to the chaos and disruptive environment of Amy Anne’s home. Amy Anne often finds that she, as the quiet sibling, must balance the chaos of her sisters, such as setting the table for Alexis because she is busy with ballet, or squishing against the door in the backseat to appease Angelina’s demands to not be touched. If there is an argument with either sister, Amy Anne’s parents expect her to behave as the mature one. Meanwhile, Amy Anne struggles to find any privacy or workspace of her own in the house.

Amy Anne loves to read. She owns only a few books of her own but utilizes the school library every day, both to check out books and to use as a quiet, peaceful place to sit and read.