I know your kind: punks like you wander the streets of nice neighborhoods searching for prey. Just couldn’t resist the pretty white girl who’d locked her keys in her car, could ya?
-- Officer Castillo (chapter 1)

Importance: This quotation contributes significantly to both the novel's plot and its themes. It is the most direct depiction of racial profiling presented in the novel, and that experience triggers Justyce's character arc as he searches for his identity in a hostile system. Officer Castillo sees Justyce helping his half-black, very drunk ex-girlfriend into a car and assumes the worst. Here, he deliberately lays out his assumptions to intimidate Justyce.

Ah, okay … so you’re saying people just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps? … In order to do that, they have to be able to afford boots.
-- SJ (chapter 3)

Importance: This quotation from SJ demonstrates the character' she commitment to social justice causes while also reinforcing the novel's...