How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The summer after my mother ran off with the bald podiatrist in the convertible, Charlie Kahn's dad let him build a tree house. (1.17.1)
Some of the biggest, most important things happen in Vera and Charlie's lives the year that her mother runs off. It's hard not to see that as a defining moment in their lives, especially when there are so many emotionally loaded memories around Vera's mom leaving and Charlie's new tree house.
Quote #2
I remember feeling bad that I'd accidentally hurt her—because my mother used to hurt me that way, too. She hated removing ticks, and claimed my father was no good at it and would leave the heads under the skin to become infected. (1.19.5)
Maybe Vera is so good with the dogs and cats at the pet shop because she understands what it's like to be abandoned. Vera knows what it was like to have the person that she loved most (hey, Mom) abandon her. Because of these painful memories, she can be more compassionate toward all these abandoned animals.
Quote #3
I think of what Charlie had seen. How his father beat his mother. How he pulled her hair out sometimes. I think about what it must be like to want to stop a thing that you can't stop. (2.1.37)
Charlie may be a jerk to Vera, but she can admit that he's carried around some pretty heavy memories. He made bad choices in the end, but they were partly driven by his demons.