How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Not that I don't hang out with the bad element every once in a while myself, but that's just me – I hang out with everyone. (2.5)
We know what Sutter thinks of these kids, but what do they think of him? Do the mailbox bashers think he's cool? What about the nerds in the cafeteria? And what do you think of him?
Quote #2
I'm being picky, though. This is a girl for Ricky after all, the dude I played Justice League with in fifth grade. He had my back then and I've got his now. (6.1)
For someone who's been abandoned by the most important person in his life, Sutter sure is loyal. We can't exactly say the same for Ricky, who abandons his friend-since-fifth-grade as soon as he finds a nice girl.
Quote #3
Why is it that now I'm friends with every single one of them and it's always fun when we run into each other? Why is it that girls like me so much but never love me? (10.16)
Oooh, ooh, we know why: because Sutter never got emotionally involved enough with his ex-girlfriends to cause any ill will. There's no reason to hate your ex if you never really loved him or her.
Quote #4
Is this what's supposed to pass for friendship when you get out of college? I don't see how you can hardly even call these people friends, at least not according to the definition of that word as I lived it growing up. (14.7)
Sigh. Hate to break it to you, Shmoopers, but Sutter's kind of right: adult friendships really are different. And shouldn't they be?
Quote #5
"It's like we were always buddies instead of boyfriend and girlfriend. Even when we had sex it was kind of like two buddies just fooling around." (38.86)
Gee, that sounds awesome. Who wouldn't want a relationship like that? Oh, right: anyone interested in forming meaningful connections with people. No wonder Sutter and Shawnie split up.
Quote #6
She wants us to be friends again. Yeah, right. Friends. (28.8-9)
Sutter's positive Cassidy wants more than that, when he gets her email. To Sutter, girls are all either ex-girlfriends or future ones. Hey: hate the game, not the player.
Quote #7
Girls have the wrong idea about how guys are with their buddies. It's like they think all we do is talk about sports and porn, tell dirty jokes, and brag about our sexploits. Or lie about them. And, okay, a certain amount of that does go on, but if you have a best friend, you can go further. You can unlock all the rooms. (47.1)
This is how Sutter talks to us in this book, as well--as if we were his best buds. We hear all about his sex life, but also his deepest thoughts and fears. Come to think of it, we just might be his only friends. (In which case, we're going to have to ask him never to use the word "sexploits" again.)
Quote #8
Cassidy's just another ex-girlfriend. All right, maybe she's really more like some kind of new, mutant, never-before-seen type of friend, but she is just a friend. (47.22)
Gee. A friend who listens to you, supports you, and really just has your best interests at heart. You know, a never-before-seen type of friend. Too bad he had to date and then break up with her to figure it out.
Quote #9
"He did know how to make friends with people. They may not have necessarily been the right kind of people, but he did know how to make people feel good about themselves. At least for a while." (57.18)
This is Holly's take on her dad, but we don't quite follow her logic. Is making friends with someone the same thing as making them feel good about themselves? It might make people feel friendly toward you, but we're not sure it actually makes them your friend. In fact, we think that, as soon as you stop making them feel good about themselves, they'll stop being your friend.
Quote #10
"All my friends are dead and my life is over."
"Your friends aren't dead," I tell him. "We're your friends." (66.20-21)
Great. These old, depressed guys at a run-down bar are Sutter's only friends now—and he's theirs. Nice. What an awesome future he has to look forward to. Ahem. Is someone cutting onions in here?