How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Of course everyone was talking. The neighbors, the sportswriters, the kids at my school. They were probably still talking, three years and twin little Hamiltons later, but thankfully, I was not around to hear it. (1.40)
Being stuck in the middle of juicy town gossip is the kind of thing that makes you not want to be a part of a community. That's certainly what happens to Mclean and her dad after her mom's scandalous affair.
Quote #2
"I started in high school. It was my first real job." She picked up the milk crate, moving it to the opposite wall, then folded the chairs, one by one. "Eventually, I left for college, but even then I came back and waited tables in the summers." (3.152)
At first it makes no sense that Opal would be so committed and attached to such a dumpy little restaurant. But it's not just a restaurant to her—it's a part of the community and a huge influence on her life.
Quote #3
"Parking! I did it for the parking," Opal told him. "But when I brought that up today, she totally ran a muddle on me about it. She started in about community responsibility and civic pride and I-"(5.97)
Opal may not be the best restaurant manager (or maybe she just doesn't have the best staff), but she's got a huge heart. Mclean's dad wants her to think of the bottom line all the time, but Opal is more swayed by helping the community—by making people happy and even allowing them to use the restaurant as a place for teenage delinquents to do community service hours.
Quote #4
"Just like you were nice to me, the other night at my car," she replied. "Plus you took Dave to the game. You invited Deb into a social gathering, which, believe me, no one has ever done here, to my knowledge. And you haven't smacked Heather yet, which is a much better record than most." (8.57)
Mclean may think of herself as a loner, but she's actually built a little community around herself. She even makes a point to look after all her new friends and to be there for them, which isn't exactly loner behavior.
Quote #5
I knew he thought my life was weird, and the truth was, I didn't expect him to understand where I was coming from. How could he, when he'd lived in the same place his entire life, with the same people around him, his history and his past always inescapable, inevitable? (8.295)
In a way, Mclean envies Dave for his simple, stable life—unlike Mclean, he's been in the same place his whole life. Maybe this makes it harder for him to change (since his parents freak out), but it also means that he feels secure right where he is.
Quote #6
"I had a hankering to serve my community," I told her, just as Dave turned around to look at me as well. "What are we doing?" (9.148)
Look at little miss I-don't-get-attached joining Deb and Dave in building the model town, even though she claims to have no attachment to Lakeview. Yeah, right—it looks like Mclean is getting pretty sucked into her new home.
Quote #7
"By, you know, a bunch of people from school. As friends." She pulled her purse a little closer to her chest. "It's really nice." (11.90)
Poor Deb has really been socially ostracized, huh? Thankfully she doesn't have to deal with mean girls anymore—she's part of the group now, and will have many more dinner invitations to come in her future.
Quote #8
As the conversation rose up again, I watched both it and the bread basket move down the table. Steadily, they went from hand to hand, person to person, like links on a chain, making their way to me. (11.143)
Riley's parents have done a really good job of putting together a monthly dinner party that people want to go to—even their teenage daughter and her friends. That's no small feat, but they're just that good at making everyone feel welcome and loved.
Quote #9
"Other people, however," she continued, clearing her throat, "feel that by organizing the people, we are removing the life force from the entire endeavor. Instead, they think that we should just arrange the figures in a more random way, as that mirrors the way the world actually is, which is what the model is supposed to be all about." (16.143)
Well, Dave does have a point there. What's the point of representing a community's population by sticking them all into rigidly defined sectors? Real life is a little messier than that, and that's not a bad thing.
Quote #10
I loved being able to finish out the year at Jackson. For once, I was really part of a class, able to partake in rituals like senior skip day and yearbook distribution, my time at a school ending when everyone else's did. (18.33)
After all these years of moving from school to school, Mclean finally gets to be a part of a class, and giddily participates in all the sort of school activities that other high school kids would roll their eyes at and proclaim to be, like, totally lame.