I'm driving downtown for groceries with the kids in the back seat and there she is on Fresh Air talking about our family like everyone is some made-up character she can do with as she wants.
-- Fifi (The sisters)

Importance: This is the second sentence of the novel, and it establishes immediately that Yo's family and friends do not appreciate being used as fodder for her writing, a theme that will be consistently referenced. Fifi, Carla, and Sandi, along with the girls' mother Laura, feel they have been disrespected by having the events of their lives depicted in Yo's book without their permission, like their privacy has been invaded.

Don't think I don't know what the Garcia girls used to say about us island cousins. That we were Latin American Barbie dolls, that all we cared about was our hair and nails, that we have size-three souls.
-- Lucinda (The cousin)

Importance: Lucinda establishes her animosity towards the Garcias...