How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Lily was thinking dreamily of Daniel Steadman and then angrily deciding how humiliating it was to be dreaming of him. She felt she was becoming the kind of person she really didn't want to be. (12.2)
Lily may think that falling in love will make her like a normal girl her age, but she doesn't consider how potent crushing on a hot guy can be when you're sixteen. She tries feeling what Tracy and the other girls feel when they move from one love interest to another, but in the end, it feels fake. The beauty of this plot thread, though, is that Lily is able to find love with Daniel in the end, but not by acting like someone she "doesn't want to be," but by just being herself.
Quote #5
Mum wanted to see her daughter's private place; she wanted to sit in Clara's chair and drink from Clara's mug, like Goldilocks in The Three Bears. And though she loved her mother dearly, Clara wasn't letting her—not yet. It was too soon, too short a time since she'd left home. (17.36)
We don't need to hide Secret Shmoop Spies in your bedroom to know that you have a private place that you don't want your parents or anyone else messing around in. It's just a fact, and it's not exclusive to teens either. Therefore, you can probably understand why Clara's not ready to bring her parents' dysfunction into the new life she's trying to form.
Quote #6
That was the gist of the second part of the article: How to make him: pretend. And who wanted to pretend? Who wanted to make people notice you? […] She was out of touch with the world anyway, thought Lily, that was certain: the "befores in the makeover section looked better to her than the "afters." (19.13)
The article in Bestie may not present the best message for impressionable young girls, but Lily learns the right lesson anyway: Pretending to be someone you aren't—and worse, someone you don't even like—isn't going to get anyone to like you. Instead, they'll end up liking someone who doesn't even exist. Lily says she's "out of touch" like it's a bad thing, but for her, maybe it's really not.