How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[…] school was a waste of time. It meant dozens of teachers hassling him about being dyslexic, and it meant Alan working full-time when Alan wanted to go to college. If Alan would just let Nick work full-time at the garage, then Alan could go to college and Nick would never be saddled with anymore reading, and everyone would be happy. (4.2)
There are probably plenty of people out there who can sympathize with Nick. When words don't come easy, neither does high school English. But Alan thinks it's important for Nick to acquire good reading, writing, and speaking skills (along with a high school diploma). Why do you think Alan feels the way he does about Nick's education? And what do you think? If Nick likes working on cars and he's good at it, why can't he just do that full time?
Quote #2
"The dancer shares a part of himself with the demon in the dance, but he has to be careful what he says when the demon comes. If he says the wrong thing or takes the wrong step, then the demon can have all of him." (5.27)
Yikes—no wonder Nick lets Alan do the talking for him when he dances. Clearly, misspeaking in the middle of a demon summoning has more drastic consequences than stumbling over a poem in English class. Hmm. Maybe this has a little something to do with Alan's insistence that Nick finish high school…
Quote #3
"What's the big deal?" Nick asked roughly, not sure what words would help and what words would upset Alan more. (9.111)
Um yeah—so this is when Nick has been… interrogating Gerald, the magician, with a lot of bad cop methodology and no good cop in sight. Nick knows Alan's upset, but he can't quite figure out why. And the words—he has no idea what to say in this situation. It's kind of like when your parents or your buddies are mad at you and all you want to do is make it better, but everything that comes out of your mouth seems to dig you into deeper trouble. We hate that. And we're pretty sure Nick does, too.