Content Warning: This section references violence, death, police brutality, and systemic racism.

“To me, jazz sounds like

what biting

into a lemon

would taste like

if you could hear it.”

At the novel’s onset, Walt/Swing immediately seeks to impress upon Noah the power and magic of jazz. Not only is Noah unfamiliar with this musical style, but it also does not move him at all the first few times he hears it. The analogy he gives here paints a vivid picture of his dislike for jazz while underscoring the theme of The Power of Art, Words, and Music. The synesthetic imagery, however, demonstrates Noah’s artistic sensibility, his way with words, and his ability to experience deeply and thoughtfully.

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything.

Everything’s not political

Actually, everything is. You either uphold the status quo,

or you see what’s wrong and try to change it.”

This conversation between Sam and Noah takes place when Sam chooses not to stand up during the playing of the national anthem at Cruz’s baseball scrimmage. Though Sam does not specify what it is about society that she feels needs changing, boycotting anthems has commonly been used to protest police violence and racism, both of which are issues dealt with in the novel. The friends’ discussion plays out a debate contemporaneous to the novel’s writing and highlights the role of young people as agents of change.