At the start of the book, we see a note from James, stating that he had always wanted to tell his father's story. But we don't know who his father is. I had ignorantly thought Mae was a woman's name, and could not understand why as the story began Mae referred to themselves as a boy. I didn't notice the name Mae on the list of children because I was looking for the name James, thinking he was one of the children of the father figure.