How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I was all alone because Mom had already been called up to the spaceships by signals from the mole on her neck. It was just me and my cat, and I have to tell you, I wasn't feeling too friendly toward the cat. (1.18)
Tip fills us in on a little secret, but she's lying to everyone else around her about what really happened to her mom. Why? She's afraid no one will believe her if she tells the truth. The sad part is, she responded the exact same way to her mom when she first heard about the aliens.
Quote #2
"Well, if you shoot your eye lasers, then I'll have no choice but to… EXPLODE YOUR HEAD!" (1.110)
J.Lo and Tip's whole relationship starts with lies about what they can do, what they are up to, and what they think of each other. Prime example is when Tip tells J.Lo that she can blow up his head. Of course she can't, but this is just one of the many lies she tells.
Quote #3
When I'd get home from school and find she'd blown our savings on an eight-hundred-dollar vacuum she'd bought from a door-to-door salesman, I'd tell her how great it was. Then I'd get on the phone and get our money back. I said I believed her about the aliens. (2.38)
It seems like Tip lying to her mom is something of a habit. Sure she does it for the right reasons—so her mom's feelings don't get hurt—but does that make it right? Over to you, Shmoopsters.
Quote #4
"J.LO!" I shouted, my voice louder but raw. The car slowed and drifted onto the shoulder. I wasn't paying attention anymore. "Tell me the truth, J.Lo! Tell me the truth. Tell me." (2.521)
When they get pulled over and Tip figures out J.Lo is in trouble, she's pretty annoyed at her newfound Boov mechanic. It's ironic though, isn't it? She's not exactly the voice of truth with J.Lo either.
Quote #5
"Bleep, you're a liar. Why do you lie so much?" said Curly. (2.642)
One of the BOOB members asks Tip this when she says her mom was abducted. Surprise, surprise, no one believes the truth, just like Tip thought. We can't help but notice how she has a change of heart in caring about what people think—suddenly she's a lot more open to the idea of just telling people what she thinks regardless of whether they believe her.
Quote #6
I was mad and ashamed at the same time. J.Lo hadn't trusted me, but I hadn't been trustworthy. I kept quiet as we reached the top of the ladder, which opened into a corridor. (2.658)
We couldn't have said it better ourselves. Tip realizes that she is a liar, but just not about the stuff people accuse her of lying about.
Quote #7
"I totally agree. I'm just suggesting that maybe we don't know everything about them after all. You said they can't get sick, but I've seen two of them sneeze. Or the same one sneeze twice." (3.1468)
It's not what J.Lo wants to hear, but the Boov might not know everything about the Gorg. This is one of those times where J.Lo is just convincing himself of something because it's what he wants to believe, not because it's true.
Quote #8
"I know! Isn't it amazing? They really want to earn our trust."
I crossed my arms. "Sounds like they already have our trust," I said. (3.1474-1475)
Tip's mom thinks the Gorg can be trusted because they promised a cure for cancer, but her daughter knows better—just because someone promises something doesn't mean they can deliver. Besides, when did these aliens become our friends, anyway?
Quote #9
THE EXCELLENT DAY FESTIVITIES WILL BE HELD TOMORROW MORNING AT SUNRISE. HUMANS OF THE AIRPORT DISTRICT WILL MEET ON THE AIRPORT TARMAC TO WATCH THE BOOV RETREAT. ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY! MANDATORY! MESSAGE ENDS. (3.1497)
We love how the Gorg yell everything and put a positive spin on it at the same time. Contradictory, much? It's not lost on Tip that the Gorg are planning something they call "excellent day" that will really be anything but. It seems their deception is thinly veiled, but most people buy it.
Quote #10
Right now you're probably wondering why I never told anyone about what J.Lo and I did. Maybe you even think I'm lying. A person would have to be crazy not to want the fame, and the spotlight. (3.1574)
We never can be sure whether Tip was lying or not. It could all be part of some elaborate story she made up to win the essay contest and get some free stuff. In fact, we weren't even questioning whether she was telling the truth until she brought it up… Perhaps the author wants us thinking about what's a lie even after the book is done.