Conor O'Malley
Quote 4
"She's got medicine for her pain—" Conor started, but his grandmother clapped her hands together, just the once, but loud, loud enough to stop him. (11.8)
Conor's grandma can't say "dying" or "cancer" to him either, but at least she attempts to bring him to his senses instead of lying to him. In a family that's all about denial, that one clap has got to count for something.
Conor O'Malley
Quote 5
"What's the use of you if you can't heal her?" Conor said, pounding away. "Just stupid stories and getting me into trouble and everyone looking at me like I've got a disease—" (27.27)
Conor experiences disease vicariously through his mother. To be ignored by his peers for her disease makes him feel as if he's the one who's sick.