Breaking and entering isn’t exactly something someone who looks like me should do all willy-nilly. Or at all. But I don’t want to call attention to myself. Not like that.
-- Ashley (Chapter 1)

Importance: When Ashley's friends decide to break into a stranger's pool, she is hesitant to do so. This quote is important because it shows how she feels singled out as the only Black member of her friend group.

Grandma Opal used to say that white kids wear their youth like body armor.
-- Ashley (Chapter 2)

Importance: Ashley often points out the difference between the way Black and white children are treated in the United States. This quote is important because it describes how white children are protected by their youth.

I can’t tell if loneliness is being Black, or being young, or being a girl, or if Lucia’s right and I need new friends. I don’t know. “It might be...
-- Ashley (Chapter 7)