How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Jenna's seen me but she's pretending she hasn't. When you're pre-majoring in perfection, having a brother who's a social paramecium is a real drawback. While our tense family situation has forced me further into my shell, it's made Jenna into a shining example of teen perfection. Perfect hair, perfect grades, perfect social standing. Through her endless pursuit of the perfect, she's trying to erase us all—the dad who lives through his work, the mom who lives through her children, the scattered way our family communicates through notes left on the fridge and cell phones and no real face time. (3.4)
What a bleak picture Cameron paints of his family, eh? It also raises questions about nature versus nurture: If twins are raised in the same family, why would one pursue perfection at all costs and the other retreat into sullen solitude? Or maybe the home life isn't as bad as Cam thinks it is, and throwing a smile his family's way every once in a while could drastically improve the situation.
Quote #2
My dad doesn't seem like my dad. He doesn't sound angry or annoyed like the dad at home who does the yard work, pays the bills, rotates the tires, and looks like he hates every minute of it. He's actually smiling, which is just weird. (4.44)
We don't think Cam's being fair to his dad here. Who does like paying the bills? Or doing yard work? Or trying to have a conversation with a surly teen who's decided life is a giant pile of poop? Conversely, it is possible that his father is having an affair with his TA, and he is truly unhappy at home.
Quote #3
That's my dad. Never yell when you can simmer. Never scream when you can cut somebody with a look. Never go ahead and have that fight when you can feel righteous about walking away and giving them your back. I've seen a lot of my dad's back. (4.67)
Passive aggressive methods of conflict resolution are the absolute worst. No wonder Cam feels so bitter about everything.
Quote #4
Mom teaches English comp, single-celled organism level, at the community college. She could be teaching a challenging English lit class somewhere good, but she never finished her dissertation or whatever it is you need to become a bona fide PhD. Mom has trouble finishing stuff. The house is crowded with half-scribbled-in crossword puzzles, books with the bookmarks in the middle, bags of knitting, scarves she got halfway through and then abandoned. (5.2)
It sounds like Cam has a sort of begrudging respect for his mom, and he wishes that she had done better for herself. But it must be frustrating to live with someone who is perpetually scatterbrained. At least their relationship isn't as contentious as the one Cam has with his father and sister.
Quote #5
"Maybe you don't have a daddy at home. Maybe you do. But here at the Buddha Burger, I like to think of us as family. You know what that means?"
There's yet another place where I can feel awkward, resentful, and out of touch? (6.36-37)
It must be really hard to feel that way in your own home. And at work. And in school. Being Cam is tough, man… he'll have you know.
Quote #6
"I thought maybe we could all go to Luigi's for an early dinner tonight," Dad announces. He makes these announcements periodically, the "let's act like a family" edicts. For all I know, he may make them a lot, but it's rare that we're all gathered in the same place at the same time to hear them. We're like electrons both attracting and repelling each other. (7.1)
This passage shows that despite his anger that continues to simmer just under the surface, Cam's dad is still trying to make them be a functional family. He wants them to be happy and whole, and part of his misery probably stems from the dysfunction that pervades their home.
Quote #7
Mom has to come pick me up in the Turdmobile. She's so mortified and, knowing Mom, worried, that we drive in total silence—total silence being the parental barometer of just how screwed you are. But the real fun is yet to come. There's the phone call to Dad, which results in his early arrival home (sorry, Raina), which leads to a closed-door discussion, which takes us to the four of us sitting in the family room: Mom, Dad, me, and the disappointment. It's like I'm a camera cutting from close-ups of Mom—worried, vaguely detached, certain this is all a reflection on her uncertain mothering—and Dad—tight, controlled, pissed off, determined to fix things. (8.48)
It seems like the biggest thing Cam's family suffers from is poor communication skills. If they could all talk to each other comfortably, it seems like a lot of this tension would be resolved.
Quote #8
Medium shot of teen boy as he struggles with what to say. It has been too long since he has tried to communicate with his parents, and it's like they are on the other side of the ocean, speaking a different language. (8.68)
How would Cam's life be different if he had a relationship with his parents where he felt like he could tell them what was happening to him?
Quote #9
I'm still here? What if I'm not? I'm afraid to look. Okay. Take this slowly. Slide eyes to the left. Window and a wall radiator. Eyes to the right. Visitor chairs. Mom and Dad. Sleeping. Mom and Dad. Still here. All Still here. Thank you. (14.8)
Well now this is a different attitude from before. Cam is starting to see that he does still need the support of his family, especially now that he's really sick. It stinks that sometimes it takes a terminal illness to make you understand the important things in life.
Quote #10
I wish we'd taken more vacations. I try to remember why we stopped. Dad got busy with work and Mom got busy looking busy and Jen and I started hating each other and next thing you know, we're a bunch of strangers totally uncomfortable being around each other. And who wants to go on vacation with a bunch of strangers? (21.17)
This seems like a which-came-first situation. If they had continued to go on vacation, would they still feel like strangers to each other? Would they have prioritized things differently?
Quote #11
"Just stuff about my mom. She was talking about how she used to take me to the library when I was a kid, and I didn't remember that at all. But just as I woke up, I did remember it. Crystal clear I could see myself sitting in my mom's lap over near the water fountain, and she was reading some rhyming book about monsters to me. She had on sandals and she smelled good, like shampoo. And I was happy. How did I manage to forget that?" (22.15)
See? Cam's childhood hasn't been all that bad. He's finally starting to see that a lot of his misery is self-inflicted, not the result of having a terrible family.
Quote #12
"Cameron?" he whispers. "I know you can hear me. I don't care where you are right this second. I just want you to know you are my boy. You're a part of me and I'm a part of you. Always." (28.8)
This is one of the most touching moments in the book. Cam's father, who Cam always felt is too distant and gruff, is confessing how much he loves his dying son. Of course he loves him, but over the years it became too hard to say the words to each other. And that's what makes this especially poignant.