How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
When Daddy looks over to where me and my sister, Anna, sit watching TV, he looks surprised, like he's wondering why we aren't downstairs in the den. No den here, though. No dining room. No extra bathrooms down the hall and at the top of the stairs. Just five rooms with narrow doorways here. Floors covered with linoleum. Walls all painted the same awful shade of blue. (1.8)
Now we're getting into the specifics of Toswiah/Evie's new situation: The family is all cramped together in a place they didn't choose and didn't even decorate in a way they like. That's enough to drive any family bonkers, even if they weren't already dealing with relocation.
Quote #5
Take the gray-carpeted stairs two at a time, the way me and my sister used to do. See the spot at the top of the stairs that's flattened? Matt Cat used to sleep there because the sun came through the skylight and shined right on him. Listen. Can you hear him purring? Go to the right and you're in my room. Pretty. Plain. The room smells of pencil shavings. The stack of journals that I've kept since I was old enough to write haven't yet been destroyed. (2.15)
Toswiah/Evie remembers lots of sensory details about her house. It makes it super vivid for us as readers, which helps us understand just what Evie's lost.
Quote #6
If you'd ever been to Denver, I wanted to say, you'd know there were better places. But I stood there silently, trying to think of something else. Even thinking the word—Denver—brought tears to my eyes. (12.31)
Ugh, it has got to be so frustrating to get made fun of over a place (San Francisco) that you're not even from. And to be unable to tell anyone about it would make it even worse. We'd be crying, too.