I am the white boy at the Martin Luther King Middle.
-- David (chapter 1)

Importance: This is the first sentence of the novel, and it functions to immediately establish race as a central concept in the novel. It also introduces the idea that David is one of very few white students at the middle school he will soon be attending.

Why I gotta be next to the white boy?
-- Kaleem (chapter 1)

Importance: Kaleem says this in homeroom after all of the students have been placed in their assigned seats. Kaleem's words emphasize the sense that David is being singled out in the school as a racial minority, similar to how racial minorities such as black people are singled out for mistreatment in American culture at large.

Benno’s a special case.
-- David's Father (chapter 1)

Importance: This is what David's father says whenever David points out that Benno is given special treatment. David is jealous of the fact that his parents cater...