How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
She had a superhero under her pajamas. She didn't have to listen to her mother, or anybody else for that matter. A new day was dawning, a girl-with-a-superhero kind of day. "I'm going to go change now," she said. (22.21)
The fact that Flora has a superhero friend and sidekick means that she starts feeling braver and more empowered, too. Check out how she describes the day, all just because Ulysses is with her.
Quote #8
"Ulysses is a superhero," said Flora. "But he hasn't really done anything heroic yet. Mostly he's just flown around. He lifted a vacuum cleaner over his head. He wrote some poetry. He hasn't saved anyone, though. And that's what superheroes are supposed to do, save people." (39.41)
As she tells Dr. Meescham about her superhero friend, we can hear the doubt in her voice about whether he's a real superhero or not. Part of what Flora needs to realize is that there are different types of heroes out there.
Quote #9
"I want things to be normal. I want a daughter who is happy. I want her to have friends who aren't squirrels. I don't want her to end up unloved and all alone in the world. But it doesn't matter, does it?" (48.23).
Flora's mom says this when she's kidnapping Ulysses. It makes us think about what is normal and what is supernatural. In Flora's case, poetry-writing squirrels might be her normal, and who are we to judge?