I’d heard over and over again that in middle school, IMAGE is everything!
-- Max in narration (chapter 6)

Importance: This quote shows how Max is concerned about what others think of him. This quote comes at a time when he is explaining how he got all new clothes for the first day of school, so that he can be the coolest kid in school.

However, for health reasons, I decided it would probably be a good idea for me to ALSO answer to the name BARF.
-- Max in narration (chapter 8)

Importance: Max is retelling the story about how he threw up on Thug’s shoes during gym class. He did not like that the school bully was belittling him in front of his entire class. However, he was too afraid of Thug to put up any real resistance. Fear was more powerful than pride.

And of course I didn’t want her to (know) think I was some SICKO who...
-- Max in narration (chapter 9)