Quote 31
Nenny, I say, but she doesn't hear me. She is too many light-years away. She is in a world we don't belong to anymore. (20.34)
Nenny's complete lack of interest in the discussion about hips makes her seem much younger than the other girls – and shows us just how much the other girls are maturing.
Quote 32
He said it was his birthday and would I please give him a birthday kiss. I thought I would because he was so old and just as I was about to put my lips on his cheek, he grabs my face with both hands and kisses me hard on the mouth and doesn't let go. (21.7)
Esperanza's initiation into kissing is by force. This seems like an ominous prelude to her initiation into sex.
Quote 33
Everything is holding its breath inside me. Everything is waiting to explode like Christmas. I want to be all new and shiny. I want to sit out bad at night, a boy around my neck and the wind under my skirt. (28.5)
Esperanza starts to express her own sexual yearnings. She's still not sure what Sire and his girlfriend do together, exactly, but thinking about it fills her with energy and makes her feel "all new and shiny."