"'Doodle' is a word my mom would use when she wanted to call me lazy." (Chapter 1, p. 4).

"The houses are small and crooked, but the trees are large and stand up tall. Large oaks stretch their canopies over the leaky roofs and peeling paint of the homes below, keeping the secrets in and the sunlight out." (Chapter 2, p. 8).

"She's sober sometimes; she's crazy all the time." (Chapter 4, p. 15).

"I'm packing lunches and checking homework and making breakfast all at the same time. The TV's on, the radio's on, the frying pan's sizzling, the coffee maker's beeping, and the boys are yelling at each other about a baseball hat." (Chapter 7, p. 27).

"Sophie's hand feels good in mine. She doesn't pull away and that's more than I deserve." (Chapter 10, p. 38).

"Around the living room I see familiar patches of drywall touch-ups from the various holes Carter's father put in their...