How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I regret everything that happened with Vera. Even back in grade school when I cut up the leprechaun picture. It's hard to explain. As far as I was concerned, I didn't have a choice. I was born to a man like my father and a woman like my mother, and I had to save Vera from myself. (1.14.1)
In a way, Charlie Kahn blames himself for his own death and everything that happened with Vera. That doesn't mean that he wants to take the blame for the pet shop fire—he just wants to make amends with Vera for being such a horrible friend toward the end.
Quote #2
Now that Charlie is gone, she ignores me again. I think she thinks she's safe now, because it's been three and a half months and I haven't said anything about what really happened on the night he died. But she's not. (1.16.9)
Jenny Flick thinks that she's gotten away with the pet shop fire and Charlie's death, but she's not safe yet. Even if Vera isn't coming out with what she knows quite yet, she's got the means to take Jenny down.
Quote #3
Maybe the adults around me were too cynical and old to do anything to help innocent people like Mrs. Kahn or Charlie, or the black kids who were called n***** at school, or the girls Tim Miller groped on the bus. Maybe they were numb enough to blame the system for things they were too lazy to change. (2.5.66)
Adults like Ken Dietz blame the system instead of actually doing something about the injustices that are happening in their own neighborhoods. Vera feels like this makes them all complicit in the bad things that are happening, like the abuse at the Kahns' house.
Quote #4
I was an idiot. I was an idiot about Vera and about Jenny Flick. I don't know what I was doing. I don't know who I was trying to impress. I've asked myself for months now, and I can only tell you what I wasn't doing. (2.9.1)
Sure, Charlie feels guilty about how he treated Vera, especially after he got together with Jenny Flick. But he didn't really know what he was doing at the time, and how huge the consequences were.
Quote #5
I am instantly aware that she left us because she never wanted to have me. I am instantly aware that I don't want her to come back, either. (2.12.37)
It's not Vera's fault that her mom left. Heck, it's not even her cheap Dad's fault. It's her mom's fault for not being able to rise to the responsibilities that were dropped on her lap as a young mother and wife.
Quote #6
Now that I'm here, I see that Jenny Flick was like Darth Vader and that the dark side is enticing. But why did I turn on Vera? I don't know. Because I didn't want her to see what I was becoming—a sneaky person who couldn't stop himself from doing s*** he shouldn't do. (3.10.50)
Maybe it's Jenny Flick's fault that Charlie ends up dead, but he knows what he's doing when he starts hanging out with her. He knows that he's making the choice to go with the bad guys—but he can't help himself.
Quote #7
Inside, I died a little bit. I didn't know what to feel. On one hand, I hated my parents for being who they were. On the other hand, I hated Charlie. Most of all, I hated Jenny Flick. (4.3.4)
When Charlie starts telling people at school that Vera's mom used to be a stripper, she doesn't know whom to blame first. Charlie's betrayed her friendship, her parents have embarrassed her with their past lives, and Jenny Flick is just trying to destroy her life. What's a girl to do? Sigh.
Quote #8
Shouldn't Jenny be avoiding me and hoping I don't tell the truth about Zimmerman's? Has she grown cocky now that it's been so long and I haven't told? Is she so crazy that she's forgotten that I know?(4.8.17)
Jenny Flick acts tough and like she's not afraid of anything, but surely that must have limits, too. Vera is shocked that Jenny isn't a little more careful around her; after all, Vera has the details that can completely ruin her life.
Quote #9
I wonder if I'd called the police back when I was ten or thirteen or fifteen, would Charlie be alive now. I regret it. I regret every minute I lived keeping that secret. I regret every time I didn't talk to Charlie about it. (5.1.28)
Even though Charlie's dad is the one who is ultimately responsible for his family's misery, Vera can't help but feel guilty about never telling on him. All these years, she just stayed quiet. If she had spoken up, would Charlie still be alive today?
Quote #10
I was scared to come home. I was scared to explore the hole I still had inside myself.
She called it baggage. "You're scared to open your suitcase and see what your mother packed." (5.3.32-33)
Ken Dietz is able to fix the symptom of the problem—his alcoholism—but he's afraid to explore the root cause and see what's really to blame for his issues. He doesn't want to unpack his flawed relationship with his mother because he's afraid of getting hurt.