How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Perhaps [Daniel'd] asked someone about her, someone like Tracy Gilman. "Lily?" Tracy would have exclaimed incredulously. "Lily Samson, do you mean?" Then she'd have rolled her eyes. "Lily Samson's weird. Her whole family's weird." (27.13)
One big problem Lily has is that she lets what she imagines other people are thinking to shape how she sees herself. We know from Daniel's chapters that he doesn't really know anything about Lily, and although Tracy has a reputation for being super tactless, she probably hasn't stooped so low as to say this stuff to him about her. Instead, many things she sees as part of her identity actually don't even exist.
Quote #8
[Lily] slammed down the receiver and turned away. As she did, she caught a sudden, shocking glimpse of her face in the mirror on the wall. Oh—oh God! Her cheeks were bright red, her eyes had gone small from crying, small as black buttons and gleaming crazily […] Pop. She looked like Pop! (27.39)
Probably the worst thing that can possibly happen to Lily during her meltdown the day Daniel disappears from school is to realize she looks like the very relative she's totally ticked off at. What's worse is that, as we all know, Pop doesn't exactly have the most honorable of character traits, and Lily doesn't want to be associated with that. The fact that her family's weirdness has actually infiltrated her appearance only creates more problems.
Quote #9
Junket? [Daniel] hadn't eaten junket since preschool. Junket was a kiddy food, like chicken pox was a kiddy disease. If his friends at school found out he had chicken pox, he'd never live it down—they'd make chicken noises as they passed him in the corridor; they'd flap their arms like wings. (28.29)
You know what's awesome about the Daniel Steadman chapters of this book? They reveal that while Lily is all freaked out about what he thinks about her, Daniel is equally concerned with his appearance and acceptance before others. Chicken pox is really no big deal, but in his mind, people are going to see it as a major issue and make fun of him. In terms of their ability to turn things that are out of their control into catastrophies, Daniel and Lily are a match made in heaven.