How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Its trunk bent up and around in almost a complete spiral, and it was so much fun to ride down. My mom told me she thought the tree must have been damaged as a sapling but survived, and now, maybe a hundred years later, it was still there, the biggest tree she'd ever seen. "A testimony to endurance" is what she called it. (4.18)
Juli's mom has a neat idea about the sycamore tree—she says it's a symbol of "endurance." That tree saw some hard times, but it kept trucking right on through. We think that's pretty impressive, but what do you think? Now we're extra sad that the tree gets chopped down since it was such a persevering little sapling.
Quote #5
"Can you climb that high?" he called up to me.
"Sure!" I called back. And up, up, up I went.
The branches were strong, with just the right amount of intersections to make climbing easy. […]
Then I looked down. Down at Bryce. And suddenly I got dizzy and weak in the knees. It was miles off the ground! Bryce shouted, "Can you reach it?"
I caught my breath and managed to call down, "No problem!" then forced myself to concentrate on those blue and yellow stripes, to focus on them and only them as I shinnied up, up, up. Finally I touched it; I grasped it; I had the kite in my hand! (4.26-30)
Nothing is going to stop Juli from climbing the sycamore tree to save Bryce's kite—not even a bit of fear. Just like Bryce Juli feels a bit scared while she's climbing the tree, but while Bryce decides to climb back down, Juli perseveres and climbs higher. Of course, she does have her cute crush watching her. And we're thinking that's a good motivator for our gal Juli to keep going "up, up, up."
Quote #6
The bus was three blocks away. I'd never missed school for any reason other than legitimate illness, but I knew in my heart that I was going to miss my ride. "You're going to have to cut me down!" I yelled. Then I had an idea. They'd never cut it down if all of us were in the tree. They'd have to listen! "Hey, guys!" I called to my classmates. "Get up here with me! They can't cut it down if we're all up here! Marcia! Tony! Bryce! C'mon, you guys, don't let them do this!"
They just stood there, staring up at me. (4.81-82)
When folks try to cut down the sycamore tree, Juli is not about to back down without a fight—in fact, she tries to get everyone in on the fight, too. In comparison with her classmates, Juli sure is one persistent kid. She even decides to miss school if it'll help save her tree, and for Juli that's a big deal. But in the end, Juli doesn't win this battle. What do you think this says about her hard work? Was it all a waste?