How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I usually love when they talk about when I was a baby. Sometimes I want to curl up into a little tiny ball and let them hug me and kiss me all over. I miss being a baby, not knowing stuff. But I wasn't in the mood for that now. (1.Driving.41)
Nothing will jar you out of tender baby memories quite as effectively as the contemplation of middle school. For his entire life up until this moment, his parents' adoration has been enough to make Auggie totally happy and fulfilled—but he realizes that what he needs more than that right now is information about the outside world.
Quote #2
Dad had told me that he was really proud of how I'd handled myself with Julian and that I was turning into quite the strong man. (1.First Day Jitters.2)
Auggie's dad gives him props for handling a tough situation independently and with maturity. It's awesome that Auggie has support like this at home, because it turns out there's a lot more that Auggie has to handle. As the story goes on, Auggie demonstrates more and more his ability and desire to handle things on his own terms.
Quote #3
"So, what are you going to be?" I asked her.
"I don't know yet. I know what I'd really want to go as, but I think it might be too dorky. You know, Savanna's group isn't even wearing costumes this year. They think we're too old for Halloween. (1.Halloween.17)
In just a couple years, those same kids will come around and realize that no one is ever too old for Halloween. But for the time being, they like the idea of having outgrown it. Which is kind of a bummer for the kids who are still really into it. Seriously, people, let's get real: who outgrows candy?
Quote #4
I'm having trouble keeping up. And there's a part of me that doesn't want to keep trying: why can't he just say what he's feeling like everyone else? He doesn't have a trache tube in his mouth anymore that keeps him from talking. His jaw's not wired shut. He's ten years old. He can use his words. But we circle around him like he's still the baby he used to be. [… ] That was fine when he was little. But he needs to grow up now. We need to let him, help him, make him grow up. Here's what I think: we've all spent so much time trying to make August think he's normal that he actually thinks he is normal. And the problem is, he's not. (2.August Through the Peephole.5)
Uh-oh—sounds like Via's over it. Big sis wants Auggie to hurry up and grow up. Or wait—maybe she just wants him to be more normal. Can he be more normal if he's "not normal" to start with? Will growing up make him more normal? It's all so confusing.
If we could, we would assure Via that Auggie is, without exception, doing his level best to be more grown up and more "normal" every single day he survives another day at school.
Quote #5
"Were people nice to you?"
"Yes."
"No one was mean?"
He put the PlayStation down and looked up at me as if I had just asked the dumbest question in the world. "Why would people be mean?" he said. It was the first time in his life that I heard him be sarcastic like that. I didn't think he had it in him. (2.After School.27-30)
Razor-sharp, knee-jerk sarcasm: incontrovertible proof of adolescence. Auggie's sarcasm shows a level of understanding about the world that younger kids just don't have. For better or for worse, he's definitely figuring out human nature.
Quote #6
The point is we all have to put up with the bad days. Now, unless you want to be treated like a baby the rest of your life, or like a kid with special needs, you just have to suck it up and go."
He didn't say anything, but I think that last bit was getting to him. (2.Time to Think.18-19)
Suck it up, put on the big boy pants, get back in the ring, yeah, yeah, yeah. When August balks, big sister Via pushes him forward. She loves Auggie and knows that he really does love being in school, and her age and experience enable her to see beyond the pain of the moment (whereas Auggie can't yet).
Quote #7
I hardly saw Via at school this year, and when I did it was awkward. It felt like she was judging me. I knew she didn't like my new look. I knew she didn't like my group of friends. […] Ella and I badmouthed her to each other […] We knew we were being mean, but it was easier to ice her out if we pretended she had done something to us. The truth is she hadn't changed at all: we had. We'd become these other people, and she was still the person she'd always been. That annoyed me so much and I didn't know why. (7.School.1)
While Miranda's all over the map with her friends and her clothes and her hair and her stories, Via maintains a smooth, steady course. Why do you think there is such a difference between how the two girls navigate adolescence?
Quote #8
"I can't believe how much you've grown up this year, Auggie," she said softly, putting her hands on the sides of my face.
"Do I look taller?"
"Definitely." She nodded.
"I'm still the shortest one in my grade."
"I'm not really even talking about your height," she said. (8.Packing.28-32)
What is Auggie's mom talking about? (What are moms ever talking about?) She's talking, of course, about how Auggie has become so much more emotionally independent since he started school, and how he's gaining a stronger sense of himself by defining himself and establishing himself within a community larger than his family.
Quote #9
I put my head in the window so Jack wouldn't hear what I was saying.
"Can you guys not kiss me a lot after graduation?" I asked quietly. "It's kind of embarrassing."
"I'll try my best."
"Tell Mom, too?"
"I don't think she'll be able to resist, Auggie, but I'll pass it along."
"Bye Dear ol' Dad."
He smiled, "Bye, my son, my son." (8.The Drop-Off.59-65)
That hugging and kissing stuff can be embarrassing for middle schoolers, and they need their parents to acknowledge that they don't need that baby-love stuff anymore. But even though Auggie wants his folks to treat him differently in front of his friends, he cleverly signals to his dad that he still values their emotional closeness by reviving their tried-and-true Auggie Doggie/dear ol' Dad routine.
Quote #10
No, I think it has to do more with this particular age that you are right now, this particular moment in your lives that, even after twenty years of my being around students this age, still moves me. Because you're at the cusp, kids. You're at the edge between childhood and everything that comes after. You're in transition. We are all gathered here together," Mr. Tushman continued, […] "all your families, friends, and teachers, to celebrate not only your achievements of this past year, Beecher middle schoolers, —but your endless possibilities. (8. A Simple Thing.6-7)
We can't say it better than Mr. T. (and we pity the fool who tries.) Coming of age: it's a process.