Each Tiny Spark

“I think about my mom and add how nervous and excited I am about seeing my dad. I hope the two feelings don’t cause an explosion inside me, like the experiment we tried last year in science class.”

Emilia uses the experiment to illustrate her combustible feelings. The baking soda and lemon juice exploding in the Coke bottle becomes a recurring symbol for intense interior life and foreshadows her “explosion” in Chapter 20.

“I can figure it out. Maybe.”

Using blunt diction, Emilia asserts her independence. She has ADHD, but that doesn’t mean that she always needs help or can’t solve problems on her own.

“Clarissa took my hand and told me it would be okay. She was the only person I could see or hear. It was like she gave me focus in all that chaos.”

Emilia uses imagery to show the reader how Clarissa isn’t always an antagonist. The reader can go back in time with Emilia and see how Clarissa comforts her during the fire drill.

“I wonder what my first words to him are going to be. Maybe I should have written a script.”

Emilia is nervous about reuniting with her dad and wishes she had a “script.” Movies and TV shows often have scripts, so Emilia wishes she had some guidance as to how to communicate with her dad.

“My dad grins from ear to ear when he sees me, and the entire house feels warm.”

Toni has difficulty expressing his feelings, but the image of his smile reveals his affection for Emilia. The “warm” house reinforces the love he has trouble expressing.

“I start to get mad again. It feels like Dad has forgotten who I am. I tried to tell him on my videos, so he wouldn’t forget.”

Videos symbolize guidance, so Emilia made videos for her dad to “tell him” who she is. They’re like instructional manuals for her personality. As he treats her harshly, he seems to have missed the messages.

“Disney World is a place for tourists. I see Don Carlos every week, but I never thought of his place as a destination.”

Emilia uses juxtaposition—in other words, she puts Don Carlos’s grocery store beside Disney World. The comparison helps the reader see how a grocery store Emilia visits every day can be as much of an attraction as a gigantic theme park.

“You’ll think of something. And when he does talk, listen.”

Orestes uses blunt diction to push Emilia to speak to her dad. He, too, treats Emilia like a capable person. This foreshadows the video Toni makes, where Toni talks and Emilia listens.

“Pennywise fed on fears. When kids stopped being afraid, he couldn’t harm them anymore.”

Horror films captivate Gus, and Gus extracts many lessons from them. It teaches Gus to face fears and not be afraid. He shares this wisdom with others, and film helps lead him to activism with Emilia.

“But that’s why we vote—so we can have people in office who help create the type of place we want to live in. Whenever you see injustice, mi amor, you have to speak up and fight back. It’s everybody’s responsibility as humans.”

Sue mixes English and Spanish words to highlight her multicultural identity. She also encourages Emilia to embrace activism and change.

“[T]​there isn’t one way to be Cuban. There isn’t a ‘good’ way or a ‘bad’ way. And yes, some people will make you feel like there is a good way or a bad way based on how you look. But that says more about them than about you.”

Sue juxtaposes “good” and “bad” and then collapses the binary. There isn’t a right or wrong way to be Cuban. There are all types of people, and there are all kinds of Cuban people.

“[T]his is what I was hoping all of you would do: dig in. Ask big questions. Look into places that are personal and also have depth. Don’t be content with turning off your brains after class. For us to be tour guides, we have to analyze the information.”

Mr. Richt reveals the elements of Confronting Unflattering Truths and Embracing Activism and Change. They’re not mindless activities: They involve careful thinking and thorough exploration.

“Clarissa seems kind of mad at me. Like she doesn’t want to hear anything bad about Merryville.”

Clarissa doesn’t want to face unflattering truths, nor does she align herself with activism and change. As she can’t tolerate hearing “bad” things about Merryville; she is happy inside of her life, with her limited worldview.

“Eso no es un proyecto para una nina de doce anos. The adults will take care of it.”

Abuela demonstrates her multicultural identity by mixing English and Spanish. She thinks Emilia should be like Clarissa and not worry about activism.

“It’s cool to think about how people travel in and out of a place. The streets don’t change, but the feet walking on them do. I wonder if it’s the same with laws when towns change. Do they have to stay the same?”

The image of people walking on the street becomes a metaphor—a symbol—for change. The feet (people) change, which means the laws can change to meet their needs.

“​​We have the puzzle mapped out on paper and the instructions on how to reassemble it. I wish I had a blueprint for my dad. I don’t know the pieces Papi’s keeping inside. How can I help him put anything back together if he doesn’t share the pieces?”

Working on the Shelby symbolizes bonding and self-improvement. Emilia makes the symbolism explicit when she goes from talking about rebuilding the car to wishing she could have a “blueprint” to better her dad.

“But after my First Communion, Abuela said I have an agreement with God to pay attention. Does she know how hard it is to stay focused when there are a million words swirling in the air? And in Spanish?”

Emilia addresses her ADHD when she notes the difficulty she has paying attention in church. She also, perhaps, speaks to the difficulty of thinking and hearing more than one language and still maintaining focus.

“It’s not junk. It’s hidden information. Like a monster under your bed.”

Gus’s diction reinforces the symbolism behind videos. Using a simile, he compares Emilia’s information to monsters under a person’s bed, and he believes people should confront monsters and information.

“I’ve had it. No mas.”

Emilia uses blunt, bilingual diction to express her disgust for Abuela and Toni. The short sentences sound like blasts, and, like the lemon juice and baking soda in the Coke bottle, Emilia explodes.

“I might be friends with Clarissa, but that doesn’t automatically mean that I think like her.”

Emilia shows that friendship isn’t synonymous with identical beliefs. A person can be friends with someone, but that doesn’t mean they view the world the same way or approve of how the other person sees things.

“Georgia residents in immigrant-led households have nineteen point two billion in spending power after tax income. Nineteen. Point. Two. Billion.”

In Emilia and Gus’s video, Amanda uses repetition to stress the economic power of immigrants in Georgia. She repeats $19.2 billion to emphasize their contribution to the economy.

“My name is Emilia Rosa.”

Throughout the story, Clarissa calls Emilia “Emi Rose.” In Chapter 23, Emilia snaps back with her full, Hispanic name.

“​​The only ‘wrong side’ is the side where people don’t care about one another.”

Thinking about train tracks and being born on the “wrong side” of the tracks, Emilia realizes that the only bad side is where there’s apathy. Activism and change centers on compassion.