How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Line)
Quote #1
Me and Samantha went back to first grade together. One day, I was just this little kid alone in the first grade, coming into class a month after everyone. For a whole month, I didn't have a single friend. And then, the next week, there was Samantha walking over to me, "Do you want to play?" (2.8)
Samantha's definitely a cool girl. She took a chance on Frannie when they were just first graders, and they've been super tight ever since. Even the appearance of annoying third-wheel Maribel Tanks can't sully what they have.
Quote #2
Sit down, he said. I'm almost done. He tapped me on the head and ran back over to his game.
The tap on the head meant he wasn't mad at me for coming. I climbed onto the bleachers and sat down in front of some girls who were watching the game. (10.14-15)
Sean and Frannie may be siblings, but they are also legitimate friends. They spend lots of time hanging out with each other and enjoy each other's company. That's pretty much the ideal sibling relationship.
Quote #3
Isn't that kid in your class? Sean asked.
I nodded.
How come you didn't go hang out with him then?
I watched Trevor move down the hall with his friends. I don't like him. (10.103-106)
Maybe Frannie's gone to school with Trevor since just about forever, but that doesn't mean she wants to spend any more time with him than necessary. In her estimation, he's just a mean kid—no doubt about it.
Quote #4
"Can you come to church with me, Frannie?" Samantha asked, her voice so soft it was hard to hear. "Just 'cause I want you to."
I let out a breath. "Yeah," I said. "I guess so." (12.32-33)
Sometimes friendship means doing things you don't want to do—just to make the other person happy. Frannie isn't exactly jumping for joy for Jesus, but she'll go to church because it means so much to Samantha.
Quote #5
"Rayray's talking back to Trevor?" Maribel whispered. "You know it must be snowing."
But Samantha smiled. "He's taking up for Jesus Boy. Bible says when Jesus Christ came back, there were miracles everywhere." (14.24-25)
Rayray and Trevor have always been friends, so the fact that Rayray is now standing up to the leader of his friend group is pretty crazy. What's going to happen next? Is Rayray going to do something unexpected, like befriend the Jesus Boy?
Quote #6
And maybe because Trevor had always been on the evil side, maybe that's why kids started laughing when he fell, instead of running to him and helping him up out of the snow. (14.53)
It turns out that Trevor didn't have any real friends after all. He's been making fun of people for so long that when he needs help, no one runs to his rescue. No one except for Frannie and Jesus Boy, that is… and they're not even his pals.
Quote #7
"You crying, man?" Rayray said. He looked confused and surprised. He was standing just a few feet away from his friend. But he didn't move toward Trevor. Didn't try to lift him up out of the snow. "I can't believe you're crying," he said. (14.54)
Trevor always makes fun of people—even his "friends"—for their weaknesses, so when he shows vulnerability, the other kids jump on it. Instead of showing compassion, they laugh at him.
Quote #8
"I want to introduce y'all," Trevor said, pointing at me. "To Mrs. Jesus." Some kids laughed. I saw Raray flick his eyes at Trevor.
"Come on off it already, Trev," I heard him say. "It's getting tired. That boy ain't doing nothing to you. Frannie ain't either." (18.12-13)
It looks like Rayray isn't going to be Trevor's right hand man any longer. He's moved onto making friends with other people—people who will be nicer to him. He's not going to put up with the class bully any longer.
Quote #9
We'd been friends for so many years, I'd stopped counting. She was one of the few people outside my family who knew about the pock scars on my hand. When I'd showed them to her, all those years ago, she was the one who'd said, "Those could be nail holes." (19.5)
Frannie and Samantha aren't just friends because they sit together at lunch and share the same walking route every single day—Frannie knows that she can tell Samantha all her deepest darkest secrets, and Samantha will find the good in them.
Quote #10
And if Samantha shows up, maybe we can all three hang out together and she can start to see the Jesus inside the boy inside the Jesus Boy. (22.11)
Now that she knows that the Jesus Boy is just a normal kid—even if he is white—Frannie thinks that she'll start hanging out with him. Samantha may not like him yet, but Frannie is convinced that she can change her mind.