How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Thinking about Dad was a bad way to start the plan because it could make me blow acting normal all to hell and nobody would understand, since he'd been dead for almost four years—four years exactly on October 17. Which I had noted would fall on Week Six of Operation Be F***ing Normal. Don't think about that. (1.5)
We tend to forget about Karl's dad because the present events in his life are so, well, present. But the fact remains: Karl lost his dad, and losing a parent as a teenager messes with your head. Karl tends to hide or even diminish his emotions, and yet we can sense that he's completely not over losing his father—as well he shouldn't be.
Quote #2
I had a familiar, numb, sick feeling as I pocketed the IOU. I'd paste it in my account book later. She'd just wiped out what I'd made gardening in a month, or three McDonald's paychecks. Figure it any way you liked, there were some days of my life I worked for nothing, and sure as s*** I was never getting them back because Mom's IOU wasn't worth wiping your butt with. (1.25)
A lack of boundaries is a huge problem in Karl's family, especially when it comes to his mom thinking it's totally OK to raid his bank account. The fact that she thinks IOUs are a perfectly acceptable way of handling the situation shows how immature she really is. Rather than respect Karl for being hard-working, she diminishes how much he does to care for their home.
Quote #3
"And I know maybe you're thinking about Doug … aw, s***, Karl, I didn't get along with your dad and all but I did love him and I miss him, too … s***. What I was going to say is that he was the mayor here, they elected him three times, and Shoemaker Avenue is named after his great-grandpa […] The cemetery is full of his people and my people, and we all go to college." (2.67)
Beth Shoemaker is one of the first literary moms we've met who actually attempts to lecture her kid about the importance of college when she herself never went and is drunk while giving said lecture. Really, Karl probably ends up in college prep classes because of a drunk monologue his mom doesn't really remember giving—not because he owes something to his family's legacy.