The short version of the story is that my mom died and I got fat, but somehow I’m still here. This is in no way my father’s fault.
-- Narrator - Libby (“18 Hours Earlier”: Libby)

Importance: Libby gives this short version of the reason why she got fat because she wants her reader to understand that her father was not responsible for the weight she had gained. She indicates that she had decided to eat to try to fill up the emptiness she felt in her life. It was this emotional eating that caused her to gain so much weight.

If I want to carry a purse, I’m going to carry it. I’m not going to not carry it just because they don’t like it.
-- Dusty (“18 Hours Earlier”: Jake)

Importance: When Dusty tells Jake that he is going to take his purse to school regardless of what other people say about him, Jake thinks that his little brother...