And I realized how different I am from everyone else at St. Francis. Not only because I'm black and almost everyone else is white, but because their mothers are the kind of people who hire housekeepers, and my mother is the kind of person who works as one.”
-- Jade (chapter 2)

Importance: Mrs. Butler is urging Jade to make friends at St. Francis, and Jade does not even try to explain why that is not really possible. She knows that Lee Lee would understand it, which is a statement that her friendship with Lee Lee is at least partly based on a shared culture.

There's never a good reason for a mother not to live with her daughter.”
-- Jade (chapter 12)

Importance: Jade is going to Sam's house for the first time, and Sam is making several disclaimers, such as the fact that she lives with her grandparents and that they never throw anything away. Jade's thought that...