How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Gram and Grim, bless their pointed little heads, they're my mother's people, her parents. (1.3)
By calling his grandparents his mother's people, it's almost like Max is distancing himself from them. As if they don't belong to him and he doesn't belong to them. Why aren't they his people? Does this attitude change at all over the course of the book?
Quote #2
Which is the way he always talked about my father, who married his dear departed daughter and produced, eek eek, Maxwell. Grim never says my father's name, just Him, like his name is too scary to say. (1.11)
A picture of Max's family is starting to take shape, and it's pretty clear that is not The Brady Bunch. If you have to refer to your son-in-law the same way you'd refer to Voldemort, you know you're in trouble.
Quote #3
The dads are getting drunk and having their cookouts, and the moms are trying to keep all the brats from blowing their precious little pinkies off with cherry bombs. (6.1-2)
In this passage, Max is describing other families. What does this tell us about how he views his own family? We'll give you a hint: contrast!