How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Her mom and sisters kept urging her—and me—to join a support group so we could get together with the other 9/11 families. But we didn't want to. (2.38)
Bart and his mom felt like the other families wouldn't understand their particular situation since Bart's dad left the family six months before his death. Do you think that's true?
Quote #2
We didn't go out much, we mostly stayed home with the curtains closed and lay on my mom's king-sized bed […].(3.6)
Bart and his mom are pretty much housebound for a period of time after his father's death. This, along with the fact that they never really talk about his dad, increases Bart's feelings of isolation.
Quote #3
I was careful not to make eye contact with anyone. I looked out the window. I was careful not to make eye contact with anyone's reflection. (4.36)
Bart's not exactly the most popular kid on the bus, as this passage demonstrates.
Quote #4
But now I just felt like a big rock stuck in the middle of school while everything flowed around me. (4.90)
At Baileywell, Bart's not just friendless, he feels fundamentally outside of everything—even everyday activities like walking down the hall. That has to be hard, for sure.
Quote #5
I was going to have to find someone to eat with or else face the shame of being that kid in the lunchroom who has to eat all by himself and pretend that he doesn't mind […]. (4.92)
For Bart, feeling isolated isn't just lonely; it's also embarrassing. Does Bart ever try to make friends at his new school, though?
Quote #6
No one saw me, or if they did, they immediately looked away. (4.103)
Bart's looking for someone to sit with in the lunchroom, and he's got nothing. That is, until Tyro Bergen waves him over to sit at his table…
Quote #7
It was strange, having these conversations about school and homework and life in general with the dial tone […]. (5.23)
When Bart starts getting prank calls at home, he pretends to have real conversations so his mom will think he has friends. It's sort of like having the saddest imaginary friends ever.
Quote #8
I went into one of the stalls and burst into heaving, choking sobs. I was crying for myself, and for Dad, and for everything I'd lost, and for how lonely and scared I was, and how I couldn't tell anyone, and how no one could help me. (8.15)
The fact that Bart has no one to talk to makes it that much harder for him to cope with Tyro's bullying.
Quote #9
"But my parents work all day, my brother and sister go to school, so I'm mostly on my own till the evening visiting hours." (10.136)
Bart's friend Nola feels isolated because she lives in the hospital. Even so, it seems like she has more people to talk to than Bart does.
Quote #10
I'd never heard anyone else say it. Maybe the reason no one had ever said that was that I'd never told anyone. It was this awful secret me and Mom had, and I'd never trusted anyone enough to let them in on it. (10.170)
Part of what makes Bart feel so alone is that he has no one to talk to. Talking to Nola about his problems gives him near-instant perspective. Thank goodness Nola comes along, right?