Character Analysis
Reese's older brother is the most mysterious of his family members, and that's probably because Reese doesn't seem to know him that well. "Me and Willis weren't all that tight, but he was still blood and would get my back if I needed him" (14.2), he says. We know that Willis was shot sometime in the past, and that he's "steady going to thug school." By the end of the book, he's in jail. Why? We don't know. Reese talks about it casually, almost like it was inevitable. "Willis is on Riker's Island," he tells us. "He says when he gets out, he's going to make a rap CD. He knows in his heart that's not going to happen" (35.6). Even Willis doesn't hold much hope for himself.