How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Every time I thought about my mother being in that building, I felt as if I was about to throw up. (2.9)
Bart lost his father for good, but he also came too close for comfort to losing his mom. Understandably, this freaks him out.
Quote #2
I could make myself sick all over again by letting myself think about what a tiny window—a few degrees of fever, my fever—had made a difference between having a mom and not having a mom. (2.22)
Bart's so freaked out by his mother's brush with death that it's hard for him to focus on the happy fact that she survived.
Quote #3
Once, Mom said she was glad that Dad's parents were dead. They'd both been killed in a car wreck not long before I was born. (3.10)
It's not that Bart's mom is a monster or anything—she liked her in-laws—she's just glad they were spared the pain of their son's death.
Quote #4
It was almost as if the reality of everything that happened to me—Dad leaving us and then dying in that terrible way—was finally creeping in around the edges of things and making me feel unbelievably lonely and abandoned. (4.90)
It takes time for the death of Bart's father to fully sink in. What can we say? Death can be a creeper like that.
Quote #5
I was just about to hang up when I heard a voice—it was Tyro's voice, he didn't even try to disguise it—say, "How much would you like to die, Fart?" (5.29)
As readers, we know it seems pretty unlikely that Tyro would actually kill Bart. But to Bart, the possibility of death seems all too real—especially since his dad just died.
Quote #6
Acky-Acky was the first thing I knew that had ever died. (6.8)
So, to be clear, Acky-Acky was a toy, not a person. Still, Bart took its "death" really hard. This is also a good reminder that Bart has a bit of a flair for the dramatic.
Quote #7
I was suddenly afraid that this Bern was Mom's new boyfriend… and it didn't seem right. Dad had only been dead for two months. (7.13)
Bart feels like it's too soon for his mother to move on… even though his father moved on to Caroline six months before he died.
Quote #8
"It's hot. It's very hot. It's burning hot. I'm burning up. Love, Dad." (8.12)
Tyro doesn't just threaten Bart's life; he makes cruel jokes (like this text) about Bart's father's death. Without laying a finger on him, Tyro bullies Bart worse than ever in this way.
Quote #9
It seemed to me that if she'd died once, she might die again […]. It made me think of the other dead person I knew—namely, my dad. (11.35)
Nola helps Bart deal with the loss of his father. At the same time, though, it's difficult for him to consider the possibility of her death. Seem fair—she is his only friend, after all.