How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Thinking about the turtle and remembering the unusual way Gypsy had woken up as I'd stepped out of bed, a shaky and suspicious feeling started to gnaw down deep in my bones, a feeling that stuck with me the rest of the morning and continued to grow like smoke from a grassfire. (5.13)
Mibs shows a huge character flaw here—or at least the start of one. This is where the rising action really starts in Savvy because Mibs lies to herself about what her savvy might be.
Quote #2
I pretended not to notice the way Fish and Grandpa kept looking at me like I was some kind of dynamite, ready to blow at the next jerk or jog of the van. (5.22)
There's a part of Mibs's character that knows deep down that her conclusions about her savvy from the morning are wrong and that her savvy actually hasn't made its appearance yet, but the way that the other two are staring at her makes Mibs self-conscious about it.
Quote #3
Ignoring Bobbi and Will Junior, I headed toward the back of the bus, thinking I could hide pretty well back there until the bus got down to Kansas. (8.32)
Mibs thinks she knows better than anybody else, and as such she believes that she doesn't need to listen to any of her friends and family, and that she can truly do something to help Poppa when she gets to Kansas. Some of this is true, but some of it is just a heap of lies our girl tells herself.
Quote #4
"Was Bobbi thinking it?" "I have to clean up those scratches Bobbi gave Fish," I said, avoiding Will's question and starting to get up. (13.28)
We can see Mibs's loyalty to her family coming out here. She clearly hasn't accepted Will into the circle of people she trusts, and outright ignores his question so she doesn't have to answer it. In fact, throughout the entire book, none of the Beaumont kids actually explain the savvy to anybody else, including Bobbi and Will Junior.
Quote #5
Don't say anything is what he was telling me. Don't say anything! I glared at Fish. Caught between the two boys and between my own fears of sharing and not sharing secrets, I shrugged my shoulders with a dismissive jerk. "There's nothing more I can tell you," I said at last, turning back to Will.
This is an interesting triangle: Will is curious and trying to be open to receiving new information, Fish is trying to shield the family still, and Mibs is caught in the middle. This gives an interesting new angle on Fish's concept of family and loyalty—lying and deceiving outsiders is necessary to protect the family.
Quote #6
We kids promised Lill that we would call home as soon as we reached the motel, but I kept my fingers crossed behind my back. (22.10)
Mibs and her friends are becoming quite good at deceiving the adults around them, however at this point it is not to protect the family so much as it is to protect the gang from getting caught by their parents.
Quote #7
[…] that girl was fast on her feet when it came to deceit, and I couldn't decide whether I admired her or felt sorry for her having such a skill. (23.25)
Bobbi's a skilled liar, but Mibs isn't sure whether to be impressed or feel bad for the girl. Lying is a skill she's clearly felt the need to hone.
Quote #8
Bobbi, Will, and Fish all sauntered into the room, looking like a bunch of cats who'd just finished feasting on an entire flock of canaries. Fortunately, Lill was so relieved to be off the phone, she didn't even notice. (23.34)
Here's an interesting question for you: is Lill lying to herself here? Sure she's relieved to be done with a phone call she was more than likely dreading, but perhaps she wants to accept the lie that the kids told her because it was easier than truly facing up to the facts of the situation.
Quote #9
It was with more than a touch of relief that we watched a white and blue police car fly past us on its way to someplace else and realized it wasn't ALERT! MISSING! ALERT! after us. But Lill and Lester hardly noticed a thing, so absorbed were they with each other. (28.2)
Sure people get wrapped up in certain things from time to time, but is that really an excuse for being oblivious to the hard fact that they are transporting a bunch of kids that the police are looking for? We think Lester and Lill just might be deceiving themselves here.