How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Being that Sunday is the first day of the week, I guess Sunday was a fitting day for my life to start to crash. (2.1)
As Torey's peers respond apathetically to Chris's disappearance, empathy clicks on in Torey. At this point, he seems pretty reluctant about it, though.
Quote #2
I think my life changed as the words in that note bounced around my head. (3.50)
Nothing like realizing your life impacts other people's to inspire you to switch out of autopilot mode and start paying attention. Chris's wish that he were born Torey instead of himself is a bit of a wake-up call to our main man.
Quote #3
I nodded, looking her up and down, noticing little things about how Ali was changing. (4.34)
Personal transformations can take a long time and happen gradually in small ways, like with Ali. She slowly pulls away from her friend group and adds little details to her appearance that make her stand out: a necklace here, a cigarette there.
Quote #4
[…] something inside of me felt totally ready to be nice to the rejects […] and to be somebody who's not so drowning in surface junk. (6.62)
We're glad you're feeling ready to be nice to the rejects, Torey, because newsflash: they're people, too. It's interesting that he never wonders whether said rejects—a.k.a. the kids he and his pals have tormented for years—will accept him into their fold.
Quote #5
All of a sudden, I didn't know what to think. I never would have thought of Mrs. Creed as a murderer, but I never would have thought of Mrs. McDermott as a turbo slut. And I never would have thought of Bo Richardson as a courageous person. (8.135)
Putting the pieces together, Torey begins to realize that his particular version of reality has been super off. It's like he's waking up or suddenly seeing the world in color after a lifetime of black and white.
Quote #6
I had become a little like Ali, with the unperfect life. (9.74)
Welcome to life off the pedestal of perfection, Torey. The scenery's a little grimier, but the people are a whole lot nicer, too.
Quote #7
That made me feel alone and kind of strange, like I didn't know who I was all of a sudden. (12.4)
Have you ever felt like this? What happened to inspire it? And what did you do after you had this feeling?
Quote #8
I'd known the night before that all this new stuff could make me feel sort of "out there" compared to my friends […]. (13.11)
Torey just went through a lot of new experiences and—bam—now he feels different. Experiences are kind of like a magic potion. Keep having the same ones, and life will usually just keep on keeping on. Want to get a new perspective, though? Try something new, like, say, solving a missing person mystery.
Quote #9
I figured, Why should I be scared of all those morons passing judgment on me? (13.87)
Here is moment when we see exactly how Torey has changed. He used to be pretty conscious of how what he did would appear to his friends, but now he doesn't care a bit.
Quote #10
I felt like everything was changing in the world, except for my mother and that stupid pen. (14.43)
This is quite an interesting observation Torey makes, although it might seem insignificant. Mrs. Adams is a good role model for her son, and she tells him that she keeps the ritual of writing with the pen to give her a feeling of "sanity and security" (14.43), which he could use a bit of right now. Hey, maybe Torey should take up a tradition, something to help ground himself as he changes.