Savvy Lies and Deceit Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"Was Bobbi thinking it?" "I have to clean up those scratches Bobbi gave Fish," I said, avoiding Will's question and starting to get up. (13.28)

We can see Mibs's loyalty to her family coming out here. She clearly hasn't accepted Will into the circle of people she trusts, and outright ignores his question so she doesn't have to answer it. In fact, throughout the entire book, none of the Beaumont kids actually explain the savvy to anybody else, including Bobbi and Will Junior.

Quote #5

Don't say anything is what he was telling me. Don't say anything! I glared at Fish. Caught between the two boys and between my own fears of sharing and not sharing secrets, I shrugged my shoulders with a dismissive jerk. "There's nothing more I can tell you," I said at last, turning back to Will.

This is an interesting triangle: Will is curious and trying to be open to receiving new information, Fish is trying to shield the family still, and Mibs is caught in the middle. This gives an interesting new angle on Fish's concept of family and loyalty—lying and deceiving outsiders is necessary to protect the family.

Quote #6

We kids promised Lill that we would call home as soon as we reached the motel, but I kept my fingers crossed behind my back. (22.10)

Mibs and her friends are becoming quite good at deceiving the adults around them, however at this point it is not to protect the family so much as it is to protect the gang from getting caught by their parents.