How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Line)
Quote #1
The boy stared back at him—his face pale and calm and quiet. I had never seen such a calm look on a kid. Grown-ups could look that way sometimes, but not the kids I knew. The boy's eyes moved slowly around the classroom but his head stayed still. It felt like he was seeing all of us, taking us in and figuring us out. (1.13)
One of the first things about the new kid that strikes Frannie is just how observant he is. He's taking in everything about the other kids, which could either mean that he's really smart… or just plain creepy.
Quote #2
I stared at his arms and saw the Trevor that was maybe inside of the Evil Trevor—just a regular boy with beautiful skin. I saw that, even though he was mean all the time, the sun still stopped and colored him and warmed him—like it did to everybody else. (4.4)
The other kids usually see Trevor as some kind of spiky monster, but sometimes Frannie sees the real Trevor who is just a kid.
Quote #3
"Is he some kind of crybaby or something?" I heard somebody ask.
"Nah," I heard Rayray say softly. "You heard the brother-man. He's just like a little bit lost. It be's like that sometimes." (4.50-51)
It's easy to just see someone as a crybaby, but Rayray looks through the Jesus Boy's sadness and sees the truth behind it. He knows that Jesus Boy is just lonely and a little bit lost, and he feels for him.
Quote #4
If Jesus came back to this world—I don't know what I'd want from him. I know what I'd ask, though. I'd say, "Mr. Jesus, I'm sorry to bother you but I have a question. I wanted to know how do you have hope?" I'd want to know how do you have hope when there's always a Trevor somewhere kicking at somebody. When there's always a mama somewhere who maybe wasn't thriving. (7.18)
Frannie gets that you're supposed to be hopeful and optimistic all the time, but she doesn't understand how that's possible. The truth of the matter is that she sees a lot of terrible stuff going on, and she doesn't know if she can be hopeful in the face of all this bad news.
Quote #5
For some reason, we just all three sat for a long time like that without saying anything else. After a while, I felt myself relaxing a little. It felt like there was a hundred million things being said all at the same time. Only you didn't need words or signs or face expressions to say them with." (11.39)
The nice thing about being around people who love you is that they often understand you, even if you're not saying anything. That's how Frannie feels when she's around her grandma and her brother.
Quote #6
I wanted to say, Because Samantha saw the real Jesus in the Jesus Boy and maybe I want to see that too. I wanted to tell Mama that Samantha always seemed to be walking around all hopeful and sure of the something better coming. I wanted to tell Mama about the boy's eyes, how they took in every single thing and didn't change. (12.49)
Frannie may not think that Jesus Boy is actually Jesus, but she wants to have some of that same wonder and belief in the miraculous that Samantha always carries around. Maybe it doesn't matter if you get proof that a miracle happened—maybe it just matters that you can believe.
Quote #7
The minute I saw him falling, I went toward him. It was automatic. Something inside of me just said, "Go!" And I did. Because Trevor was falling and then he was in the snow. And in the snow, he looked smaller and weaker and more human than any of us. (14.56)
Frannie would never help the monstrous version of Trevor, but when she sees him lying there in the snow, she really sees him. For once, he's not scary—he's just a kid who is crying and needs help.
Quote #8
Jesus had seen something other kids hadn't seen. Not because they couldn't. Because their hearts were kinder. But the Jesus Boy had gone right to the soft hurting spot in Trevor. And he'd peeled the skin of that hurting back to show us all the scar that was there. (15.21)
Jesus Boy immediately recognizes that Trevor isn't some scary dude to be reckoned with; he has a soft spot. He uses that knowledge for evil when he tells Trevor that he doesn't have a daddy around.
Quote #9
And all the other kids had seen it. Had seen the way Trevor fell. Had seen the tears. Had seen, in that quick, quick moment, how small we all could be. (15.25)
Trevor falling down isn't just a game changing moment for him—it's one for the other kids, too. He was always the unbreakable, unbeatable kid in their class, and now he's vulnerable and weak. That's a lot for them to wrap their minds around.
Quote #10
"The truth in your heart. My daddy says we all have a truth in our hearts."
It was the Jesus Boy speaking. He even surprised Ms. Johnson. But she tried to hide it by smiling.
"Exactly," Ms. Johnson said. "Write what your heart tells you to write." (20.9-11)
Ms. Johnson isn't interested in a boring, emotionless true story written out on a sheet of paper. She wants her students to infuse their writing with what they're feeling, and their true selves. That's what makes for quality writing.