Most Important Quotes
The Purpose of an Imaginary Friend
"Imaginary friends don’t come of their own volition. We are invited. We stay as long as we’re needed. And then, and only then, do we leave."
Speaker: Crenshaw | Context: Chapter 16 — Crenshaw tells Jackson this when Jackson tries to push him out the window, insisting he doesn’t need him.
Analysis: This line articulates the novel’s governing rule for imaginary companions and anchors the theme of Coping with Stress and Trauma. Crenshaw’s presence is framed not as delusion but as chosen and purposeful, a psyche’s tool summoned precisely when Jackson needs help. The statement foreshadows that Crenshaw will vanish only after Jackson confronts his family’s instability and admits what he feels. As a metaphor, Crenshaw becomes the embodiment of Jackson’s fear and grit, making the cat a symbol of inner resilience rather than whimsy.
Facts Over Feelings
"Facts are so much better than stories. You can’t see a story. You can’t hold it in your hand and measure it."
Speaker: Jackson (Narrator) | Context: Chapter 2 — Early in the book, Jackson defines himself as a scientist who trusts only what can be proven.
Analysis: Jackson’s credo sets up the novel’s central tension between measurable truth and emotional truth, the heart of Truth and Imagination. His devotion to facts functions as a coping mechanism: if reality can be quantified, perhaps it can be controlled. The irony is that his family’s crisis resists measurement, forcing him to accept the “unmeasurable” reality of Crenshaw as a means of survival. The line makes his arc legible from the start: he must learn that stories can carry their own kind of truth.
The Unspoken Truth
"You do realize we can’t live in the minivan again."
Speaker: Jackson's Mom | Context: Chapter 11 — Jackson overhears his mom say this during a late-night argument about bills.
Analysis: In a family that often cushions the truth, this blunt admission is a rupture of honesty. It confirms the signs of Poverty and Homelessness Jackson has been collecting, validating his dread of reliving their most painful memory. The line cuts against the parents’ usual cheer and reveals the fear beneath their optimism. It underscores the cost of protecting children with silence and feeds the book’s argument for Honesty and Communication as a form of care.
The Path to Healing
"You need to tell the truth, my friend... To the person who matters most of all."
Speaker: Crenshaw | Context: Chapter 16 — As he prepares to leap from the window, Crenshaw leaves Jackson with this challenge.
Analysis: Crenshaw’s mission is not simply comfort but instruction, directing Jackson toward emotional integrity. The purposeful ambiguity is a deft device: Jackson assumes the “person” is his parents, only to realize in Chapter 48 that it is himself. Acknowledging his fear, anger, and sadness becomes the prerequisite to speaking honestly with his family. This inward turn is the hinge of his growth and the story’s healing logic.
Thematic Quotes
Poverty and Homelessness
The Hunger Game
"Cerealball is a good trick for when you’re hungry and there’s nothing much to eat till morning. We invented it when our stomachs were grumbling to each other."
Speaker: Jackson (Narrator) | Context: Chapter 4 — Jackson describes the game he and his sister invent to distract themselves from hunger.
Analysis: Cerealball turns deprivation into play, a child’s alchemy that softens the edges of scarcity. Delivered in Jackson’s matter-of-fact voice, it shows how normalized food insecurity has become for him and Robin. The image of “grumbling” stomachs personifies hunger, making it a noisy presence the children learn to outwit. Without melodrama, the scene makes poverty visible through the quiet ingenuity required to endure it.
A Painful Re-framing
"I wasn’t like my dad, who kept saying we weren’t homeless. We were just car camping."
Speaker: Jackson (Narrator) | Context: Chapter 21 — Jackson remembers their first bout of homelessness and his father’s euphemism.
Analysis: The euphemism “car camping” is an act of love that collides with Jackson’s devotion to accuracy. By renaming homelessness, Jackson’s Dad tries to shield his children, but the re-framing creates a rift: Jackson feels his reality is being misrepresented. The line spotlights the peril of softening language when a child is asking for truth. It advances the book’s case that comfort without candor can erode trust as surely as hardship does.
Truth and Imagination
The Unspoken Rules of Society
"That was the first time I realized people don’t always like to hear the truth."
Speaker: Jackson (Narrator) | Context: Chapter 2 — Recalling the mall Easter Bunny incident, Jackson remembers upsetting everyone by exposing the costume.
Analysis: This formative moment teaches Jackson that facts can wound when they dismantle cherished illusions. The scene contrasts objective reality with socially useful fictions, foreshadowing his struggle to accept Crenshaw’s “untruth” for the comfort it provides. It also anticipates his parents’ insistence on the story that “everything is fine,” even when it isn’t. The memory becomes a lens for understanding when truth should be named—and when kindness asks for gentler framing.
Embracing the Magic
"Jackson,” Marisol said, “just enjoy the magic while you can, okay?”
Speaker: Marisol | Context: Chapter 45 — After Jackson confesses that Crenshaw is back, Marisol urges him not to dissect the experience.
Analysis: Marisol is a foil who honors wonder alongside reason, offering Jackson another way to be smart. Her advice pushes against his reflex to explain everything, framing imagination not as a lie but as a resource. The line marks a pivot: accepting mystery becomes a survival strategy, not a capitulation to falsehood. By recasting Crenshaw as “magic,” she helps Jackson allow what helps, even if he can’t measure it.
Family and Resilience
The Weight of Optimism
"They were always looking on the bright side. Even when things were bad—and they’d been bad a lot—they joked. They acted silly. They pretended everything was fine."
Speaker: Jackson (Narrator) | Context: Chapter 9 — Jackson reflects on his parents’ relentless positivity.
Analysis: The family’s humor is both buoy and barrier: it keeps them afloat while blocking the hard conversations Jackson needs. He reads their lightness as pretense, which isolates him and loads him with unspoken worry. The passage clarifies that resilience is not mere cheerfulness but the courage to face what hurts. Only when optimism is coupled with truth can it strengthen, rather than silence, a child.
The Messiness of Life
"Life is messy. It’s complicated... You just have to keep trying."
Speaker: Jackson’s Dad | Context: Chapter 50 — After finding Jackson’s runaway note, his father finally speaks plainly about their situation.
Analysis: This is a rare moment of unvarnished candor, and it lands like a bridge. By admitting that he doesn’t have tidy answers, Jackson’s dad treats his son as a partner, not a passenger. The repetition and ellipsis convey humility, an opening where certainty used to be. “Keep trying” reframes resilience as commitment, not control—a family promise rather than a guarantee.
Character-Defining Quotes
Jackson
"I like facts. Always have. True stuff. Two-plus-two-equals-four facts. Brussels-sprouts-taste-like-dirty-gym-socks facts."
Context: Chapter 2 — Jackson introduces himself through the comfort of certainties.
Analysis: With humor and specificity, Jackson builds an identity anchored in provable truths. The sensory joke about Brussels sprouts grounds his voice in concrete detail, even as his life spins into uncertainty. This reliance on facts is his armor against instability at home. The novel’s arc pushes him to admit that some truths—fear, love, the need for solace—aren’t numerical but are real all the same.
Crenshaw
"You do, Jackson,” he said. “You make the rules."
Context: Chapter 16 — Asked who decides the rules for imaginary friends, Crenshaw answers plainly.
Analysis: Crenshaw’s answer reveals him as a projection that empowers rather than controls, a guide pointing Jackson back to his own agency. The line flips the script on magical saviors: the child, not the cat, determines what healing looks like. Its simplicity carries a quiet authority, reminding Jackson he can choose his responses even when he can’t choose his circumstances. In that way, Crenshaw is less rescuer than mirror.
Jackson’s Dad
"There’s everything wrong with asking for help,” my dad snapped. “It means we’ve failed."
Context: Chapter 11 — In a tense argument, Jackson’s father gives voice to his pride and fear.
Analysis: The outburst exposes a core wound: if providing is identity, then needing help feels like erasure. His stance is double-edged—fueling perseverance while blocking practical relief. The harsh absolutism of “everything” and “failed” shows how shame distorts judgment. This ingrained resistance to vulnerability explains the family’s silence and the distance Jackson feels.
Jackson’s Mom
"They’re just things,” my mom said quietly. “We can always get new things."
Context: Chapter 39 — Preparing for a yard sale, Jackson’s mom reframes loss.
Analysis: Her softness and pragmatism make her the family’s emotional ballast. By decentering possessions, she puts love and safety at the core of what must be protected. The repetition of “things” diminishes their power, a verbal letting go that steadies Jackson. Her perspective counterbalances her husband’s pride and models a resilient hierarchy of values.
Marisol
"Why do you have to understand everything, Jackson? I like not knowing everything. It makes things more interesting."
Context: Chapter 45 — Marisol counters Jackson’s crisis with curiosity and acceptance.
Analysis: Marisol embodies creative intelligence—the ability to live with uncertainty without panic. Her stance offers Jackson a third way between denial and dissection: wonder. The line broadens the novel’s definition of “smart,” suggesting that openness can be as brave as analysis. As a friend, she legitimizes the comfort Jackson finds in what he can’t fully explain.
Memorable Lines
The Life of an Imaginary Friend
"Imaginary friends are like books. We’re created, we’re enjoyed, we’re dog-eared and creased, and then we’re tucked away until we’re needed again."
Speaker: Crenshaw | Context: Chapter 46 — Crenshaw explains where imaginary friends go when they’re “gone.”
Analysis: The extended simile elevates imagination from childish play to an enduring personal library. By likening himself to a beloved, dog-eared book, Crenshaw becomes a repository of comfort and memory rather than a passing fancy. The imagery suggests that inner resources can be revisited when life demands them. It’s a tender, memorable metaphor for how stories—and the selves they help us build—remain.
Opening and Closing Lines
Opening Line
"I noticed several weird things about the surfboarding cat."
Speaker: Jackson (Narrator) | Context: Chapter 1
Analysis: The sentence marries observational precision (“noticed”) with the impossible (“surfboarding cat”), declaring the book’s realist–fantastic fusion. It introduces Jackson’s analytic voice even as it announces the intrusion of wonder. The clash between logic and absurdity is playful, but it also forecasts the novel’s thematic debate. The hook is irresistible, promising a story that will measure the unmeasurable.
Closing Lines
"There had to be a logical explanation. There’s always a logical explanation. Meantime, I was going to enjoy the magic while I could."
Speaker: Jackson (Narrator) | Context: Chapter 52
Analysis: The ending balances who Jackson was with who he’s become: he still honors logic, but he now grants magic a seat at the table. Echoing Marisol’s counsel, he chooses wonder without surrendering his scientific self. The shift from certainty to coexistence signals maturity—the confidence to live with unanswered questions. It closes the loop on Truth and Imagination by showing that both can be true enough to live by.