With this term we can infer that the jacket was ripped, severely enough that stuffing began to come out.

"I saw their heads bob with laughter, their hands half-covering their mouths"

This descriptive language creates a vivid picture in our mind of how they looked as they laughed.

"The faces of clouds were piled up..."

This description helps us understand the type of environment Gary was in during this section of the passage.

These details appeal to the sense of sight, making us imagine the steamy windows from her cooking perhaps even smell since his mom was cooking filling up their home.

"I heard the buzz-buzz of gossip and even laughter that I knew was meant for me."

These details appeal to the sense of sound by telling us he heard the buzz of gossip enhancing the scene.

This metaphor is comparing Frankie T to a terrorist without using "like" or "as".

"...a jacket the color of day-old guacamole"

This metaphor creates a vivid image of the jacket's color.

An expression of feeling extremely cold.

"...bitter as a penny"

An unpleasant and grudged feeling towards something/one

"...tape peeled off like a scab..."

The tape peeled off easily

"flapped the jacket like a bird's wings"

" ... forearms stuck out like the necks of turtles"

This simile demonstrates the jacket's ill fit. 

Gary was still a small kid, being compared to a thin young tree.

"Enough belts to hold down a small town"

The belts represent a deeper idea beyond its literal sense.

"I blame my mother for her bad taste and her cheap ways"

"I took off my old jacket whose sleeves climbed halfway to my elbow"

"Even the girls who had been friendly blew away like loose flowers to follow the boys in neat jackets".