How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Well, I'm Abilene. I'm twelve years old and a hard worker," I said, like I had a hundred other times in as many towns. (3.14)
When Abilene introduces herself to Shady, it's clear that she's confident in her identity. It's not until later that she starts feeling unsure of herself.
Quote #2
Mind you, I don't really say y'all, but it's usually best to try to sound a bit like the folks whose town you're moving into. (3.15)
Abilene also has the ability to change her outer identity to fit each town she visits. But she's still sure of who she is; she lets us know in no uncertain terms that the real Abilene doesn't talk like that. And the way y'all talk is important to her.
Quote #3
"Y'all are the ones hoping to get noticed by the teacher or your parents for doing a good deed to the new girl. Well, I don't need no corpus works of mercy," I said, slipping into my new-girl-in-town way of talking. (6.37)
When Lettie and Ruthanne first try to make friends with Abilene, she doesn't take it too well. It's majorly important to her to keep her pride intact and stay aloof from these girls, hiding her real self.
Quote #4
"Seems like a person should know where he was born. Where he's from and who his people are." (9.48)
When Ned tells Jinx he doesn't know what his family background is, we see how much it really bugs him. Does knowing where you were born make a difference in how you see yourself? Should it? Why or why not? How would Ned be different if he knew who his mom was?
Quote #5
Maybe the world wasn't made of universals that could be summed up in neat little packages. Maybe there were just people. People who were tired and hurt and lonely and kind in their own way and their own time. (17.84)
Abilene's finally growing up, and that means thinking about tough stuff like this. But it takes Abilene a while to get to this point. Her universals may have helped her understand the world she lived in, but hearing Miss Sadie's story made her see that things are more complicated than they seem at first.
Quote #6
"This town left its imprint on your daddy, probably more than even he knows." (20.15)
When Hattie Mae mentions this to Abilene, she doesn't know that Jinx is her dad. After all, Jinx has spent his whole life running away. Why is that?
Quote #7
And there was Jinx. I felt like I understood this boy who had lived life from one place to the next. (23.7)
Abilene feels a major connection to Jinx, even before she realizes he's her dad. After all, who else in town could understand a life like the one she has?
Quote #8
I was all middle. I'd always been between the last place and the next. (27.37)
Abilene feels this way—like she doesn't have a solid footing in any one place—but she does know where she came from, doesn't she? She knows her dad, and that places her square in the Tucker clan.
Quote #9
He thought he was still a jinx and, one way or another, my life could not be good with him. (39.27)
Abilene realizes that Finn's words are still stuck in her dad's head, and that's why he sent Abilene to Manifest. Why is Gideon's identity so wrapped up in his past? Why can't he get past it?