“I have been with my brain for twelve long years. I know how it puts things wrong.”

At the beginning of the book, Mason reflects on his learning disability. He is aware of his inability to read or write, and how his brain moves letters and numbers around in unique ways. 

“Thinking outside the box is a skill. It means your mind is big and open, Mason. If you can think outside the box, you have no limits!”

Ms. Blinny says this quote to Mason, after she fixes his shirt, so it doesn’t read STOOPID anymore. She says he thinks outside the box, and that his kind of thinking is important, and he should embrace it.

“Some people might think they already know my story. That’s just because they live around here.”

Mason reflects in this passage on his experience living in a small town and experiencing grief and trauma. His family has gone through hardship that is common knowledge, and it changes the way people see him, but he knows he owns his own experience.