Never.' His mother took his hand and swung it up and down. 'I promise I'll never leave you.' But one day, she did.
-- Daniel Wilkinson/Deming Guo (Chapter 3)

Importance: Here, Daniel recalls a memory of his mother promising never to leave him. The memory is a commentary on how undocumented immigrants, given their precarious situations in the U.S., cannot hold and keep their promises; separation is not solely dependent upon them.

Welcome home.
-- Peter Wilkinson (Chapter 3)

Importance: Peter Wilkinson says this to Deming after he has first been placed in their foster care. Peter's presumptuous reference to their home as Daniel's home, too, reflects the Wilkinsons' expectation that Deming/Daniel will simply let go of his thoughts of his previous home and accept their home unconditionally.

He had never known how exhausting it was to be conspicuous.
-- Daniel Wilkinson/Deming Guo (Chapter 4)

Importance: Here, Daniel reflects on the differences between his life with his mother in Chinatown and his life with the Wilkinsons...