"I preferred albums to the more modern eight tracks. Albums came with sleeves which reminded me of clean underwear." p. 10

"I could control the sharpness of the crease in my double-knit slacks, even if I couldn't stop my mother from hurling the Christmas tree off the porch like she did one winter." P. 19

"A thin layer of trust had formed in my mind, like a scab." P. 64

"I was worried my being gay would push the Finches' acceptance of me past the breaking point." P. 69

"[Bible-dipping] was like being able to turn to the back of the book and look at the answers." P. 79

"I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be one of them or simply live among them taking notes and photographs." P. 82

"In addition to calling each other standard names like bitch and whore, the Finches incorporated Freud's stages of psychosexual development into their arsenal...