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Sun-kissed water. Pg 286

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His eyes twinkling. Pg 285

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It took ages for Mr. Yao and his agent to count up all the money. Pg 284

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Ran as fast as the wind could carry me. Pg 283

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His kindness that blew me away. Pg 282

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Pg.282 “I ran as fast as the wind could carry me...”

This means Mia was running very fast. As fast as she could.

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His brown eyes blazed with courage. Pg 282

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I walked into school with nails in my stomach.pg281

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Nails in my stomach. Pg 281

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Fear jolted down my spine. Pg 280

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Like someone had ripped out his earring. Pg 279

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Hoping for a slice, however tiny, of the American dream. Pg 278

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Raisiny fingers pg 278

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Boiling away on the roof pg 278

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A war was happening in Mr. Yao’s as denial morphed into rage. Pg 277

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I always go the extra mile for them. Pg 274

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I know every corner of this motel like the back of my hand. Pg 274

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Stubborn as a rock. Pg 273

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Probably splitting the bill now. Pg 266

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Never in a million years did I think my aunt would say no pg 266

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A real cash cow this motel pg 264

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Hesitation melted into resolve. Pg 263

The hesitation didn’t really melt. It means that the hesitation felt like it was gone and resolve replaced it (I think).

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Yao’s dying to sell the motel. Pg 263

Mr. Yao isn’t really dying. It means that he’s desperate to sell the motel.

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You owe it to her to swallow your pride pg 263

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His mind a million miles away. Pg 262

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His mind a million miles away. Pg 262

Hank’s mind isn’t really a million miles away. It’s not even one mile away. It’s just an exaggeration.

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Why so blue? Pg 261

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The humongous penny staring us in the face. It was called family and my parents refused to pick it up! Pg 261

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Your head’s in the clouds pg 261

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My mom screwed up her face. Pg 260

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Guilt cut into me like the harsh fluorescent front office lights. Pg 259

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Guilt cut into me pg 259

Guilt can’t literally cut into you, it’s just what it felt like to Mia. It means that the guilt pained her inside.

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Rushed to lick my wounds. Pg 259

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Like a passcode to a different galaxy. Pg 259

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Hands heavy as rocks. Pg 259

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Raced through the letter. Pg 257

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Gulping it down as quickly as I could. Pg 257

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Produced an envelope. Pg 257

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Stomach’s loud protests pg 255

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Took a bite and purred. Pg 253

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Bubbling pg 253

Bubbling is onomatopoeia because it’s telling how hot the pizza is. Apparently, the pizza was so hot, it was bubbling.

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Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Pg 251

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I stood so still, if a breeze swept through the classroom, I would have fallen. Pg 250

A fifth grader can’t fall over by a breeze even if they stood really still, it was an exaggeration.

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She paused for what felt like an eternity.

It wasn’t an eternity, it just felt like it to Mia.

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My heart jumped to my throat. Pg 249

Hearts can’t jump. It’s just what Mia felt like. Also, hearts can’t go to throats, so I guess it’s an idiom and personification since humans can jump!

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Never really hit me now. Pg 248

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I was the barnacle to her whale. Pg 248

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So I don’t have to stay on this roller coaster all by myself pg 248

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My dad’s face plunged. Pg 246

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A lump in my throat became a boulder. Pg 246

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They slithered in like eels pg 246

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blinking hard, blowing her nose into a tissue like someone had died. Pg 246

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Hank’s smile vanished. Pg 244

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My heart raced so hard, I thought it might come flying out. Pg 244

Hearts can race, but they can’t come flying out. It was an exaggeration.

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Winds of life, pg 244

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you’re-only-as-good-as-your-last-envelope self. Pg 243

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Mr. Yao answered with a sigh, as if he had read my thoughts. Pg 243

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Poring over the numbers and figures pg 242

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The doubt lingered with me. Pg 241

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I was fully blind. Pg 240

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The news slapped me across the face. Pg 240

Unless it was a newspaper and someone was holding it, news can’t slap you in the face. It means that the news was shocking.

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I’m not a bike. Pg 240

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Our eyes locked. Pg 239

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A smile played at his lips pg 239

Smiles’ can’t play, it was just what it semi-looked like in Mia’s point of view. It means that he was verrry happy!

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Kind of threw it out there. Pg 238

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Your all alone, on your own little island. Pg 238

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I could feel it and snuggle it pg 237

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He said it like we were inventory pg 237

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The temperature in the room plummeted pg 237

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My parents’ faces turn white. Pg 237

Mr and Mrs Tang’s faces weren’t really white, it was just that they were in so much shock, the color in their faces could’ve drained.

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Shook up our world. Pg 237

It didn’t really shake up their world. It was just what Mia felt inside and she was shocked and probably scared.

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Our chopsticks collided like swords. Pg 236

She’s comparing the chopsticks to swords since Mia’s cousin, Shen, and Mia did chopstick fights over food.

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She believed it like she believed the sky was blue. Pg 235

Mia’s grandmother believed that girls weren’t very useful as boys were and she believed it. Mia believes that her grandmother believed it so much, it like saying a true fact. That’s why Mia compared what Mia’s grandmother believed in to a true fact.

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Girls are like spare tires. Pg 235

Mia’s comparing girls to spare tires because you don’t need spare tires. They’re nice to have, but you don’t need it. Like how Mia thinks she was treated in China.

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Walk all over me. 235

They didn’t walk all over Mia, it means that they made her feel small and unable to do anything.

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Our heart is like a rubber band. Pg 235

Mia’s comparing our hearts to rubber band because hearts can stretch with love and/or hate.

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Price I paid for their safety. 234

Mia didn’t pay money. She had “her jeans” taken away and that distracted Mr. Yao enough to sneak away the immigrants in room 6.

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The humiliation had burned a hole in my tongue. Pg 234

It didn’t really burn a hole in her tongue. It meant that she was really really really embarrassed.

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I stared at the jeans - hours ago, my friend, my pride - and now my shame. Pg 233

This means that Mia really loved the jeans, but now feels ashamed that she kept them.

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Tears pooled at the base of my eyes pg 233

It means that tears started in her eyes.

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Peeled them off like bark pg 233

Mia’s comparing “her jeans” to bark because barks hard to peel. It was hard to take off Polly’s jeans because Mia wanted them badly.

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Bold, shouty caps pg. 233

The caps didn’t really shout. It was just so big and bold, it looked like it can shout!

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Gawking at me like I was a criminal pg. 232

Because Mr. Yao thought that Mia stole the jeans (even though she did) and was looking at her like she was a criminal, that’s why Mia is comparing the gawking at her to a criminal.

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The hard fabric digging into my flesh. Pg. 232

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My throat felt like sand. Pg. 232

Mia’s comparing her throat to sand because her throat was dry, like sand.

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My blood curdled pg 231

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Not in a million years. Pg 231

People don’t live for a million years, it’s just means that Mia’s dad would never do such a thing.

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His threat cut into us like glass. Pg 231

Mia’s comparing Mr. Yao’s threat to glass. Since glass really hurts you whenever it cuts you, that’s how Mia felt with Mr. Yao’s threat.

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Fell like spittle on my dad. Pg 231

Mia was comparing something falling to it falling like spittle.

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Hissed. Pg 230

It was onomatopoeia and Mr. Yao has kind of (I guess) making a snake kind of noise.

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The sweat stains on my father’s shirt stretched Pg 230

The sweat didn’t really stretch, it was just spreading around like it said after “stretched”.

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Mr. Yao’s car roared pg 229

Mr. Yao’s didn’t really roar. It was just what the car sounded like.

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Jason looked at me like I’d just asked him if he wanted to do the fox-trot. Pg 227

Mia’s comparing the look on Jason’s face after the question to if Mia asked Jason another question like do the fox-trot. I guess the dance, fox-trot, is very embarrassing to do, which is why he maybe would’ve looked at her like that.

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Monstrous wave of laughs. Pg 227

There wasn’t a monstrous wave. It was just what Mia thought it looked like.

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Pg 227. She wasn’t really going into the phone

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Crumbled into her chair. Pg 227

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Disintegrated into nonstop giggling. Pg 226

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Cup his ear pg 226

He wasn’t really cupping his ear with a cup, it was just using his hand to “cup” his ear.

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I could feel it in my bones. Pg 223

Mia couldn’t actually feel it. She just says she can feel it in her bones when really, she can’t.

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Honeycomb sun pg 223

Mia’s comparing the sun to a honeycomb because that’s what the sun looked like. A honeycomb.