How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I do not understand why they are showing happy teeth. Do they not miss Halmoni? Are they not mad that they are not in the real heaven? Harabugi is waiting in the real heaven and Halmoni will go there without me. I do not care if we are a step from heaven. I take a big swallow of the hurting drink. This is not heaven. (7.36)
Hey there, book title. Clearly "a step from heaven" isn't exactly a good thing because that step is a pretty long way from (and, notably, not to) wherever and whatever heaven is. This passage is just saturated with Young Ju's disappointment—about the fact that she won't (ever) get to see her grandparents again, that she won't be in actual heaven, and that the Coke she's drinking hurts her throat.
Quote #5
I do not like the word school. Uhmma and Apa say school is my future. I do not like the word future. Everything is in the future. A house we do not have to share with Gomo and Sahmchun. A car without big cuts in the seat that show the crumbly insides that Uhmma says I should not pull out, but I do anyway because it feels like sand when you mush it between your fingers. (8.1)
Young Ju likes to keep things real for us. She's not about hoping for the future because that basically means she's forced to delay gratification, which sucks because all she can focus on is how poor her family is. You could say that Young Ju's acting like a typical, spoiled kid, but she does have a point—it's hard to imagine a successful future when you don't have a real timeline for success and you're pretty much surrounded by reminders of your neediness.
Quote #6
Uhmma looks up at Apa and says, Someday he could be a doctor or a lawyer. Gomo adds, Someday he could be president.
Apa's eyes find the window by the front door. They stare past the old brown grass, past the crisscross metal fence. They travel far, far away. Someday, Apa says, my son will make me proud.
I can be president, Apa, I call out. Apa's eyes are back home. Pointing at me. He laughs. You are a girl, Young Ju. (10.25-27)
We're with you if you think Apa's a jerk. How does a daughter even deal with a family—especially a parent—who doesn't believe in her ability to succeed? Good thing Young Ju's not the type to let all that negative thinking hold her back.