- Ruthie Carmichael: Mister, superheroes don't fly or look like Jesus. They drive broken-down cars. They take their kids with them no matter where they go or how bad things get, and sometimes they make mistakes just like anyone else.
- Lee: What I like about chess is you can learn as you go along. You can't win just by only making forward moves. Sometimes you have to take a step back or even lose a few pieces to move forward. I think you just have to be patient. You know, that's what they say about it.
- Ruthie Carmichael: [narrating] I was the one who always knew when it was time to leave. Eventually, all of my mother's boyfriends turned out to be creeps. We did what we always did. We took what we could and ran. This was me - and my mom.
- Peter Pam: Did you know that, compared to the size of the universe, humans are one billionth the size of an ant?
- Rita Carmichael: Hmm. You know when it happened to me? I didn't tell anybody. Cause I knew what they would say. And I felt dirty all over. I didn't want to eat anything. I didn't wanna swallow anything. I walked around, and I was like... nobody's ever gonna want me. Ever. I'm damaged goods. You know what I mean? It's like, well...
- Peter Pam: I'm really scared.
- Rita Carmichael: What are you scared of?
- Peter Pam: Sometimes God makes mistakes.
- Rita Carmichael: Do you think he made a mistake with you?
- Peter Pam: I'm scared to live. I won't even kill myself because I'm scared of God. I'm scared of... you know, whatever is waiting up there or down there.
- Rita Carmichael: Well, you survived this. You can survive anything. You just have to take a deep breath.
- Lee: Why does everybody hate going to the dentist? We do so much good. You can't hate... clean, healthy teeth. It's the foundation for a good life.
- Ruthie Carmichael: [narrating] Bullies exist in every town. Big and small. People hate what they don't understand.
- Peter Pam: Really smart people usually end up killing themselves. Which is sort of like not finishing a book after you've started. The right ending can make the whole story fall into place. You just have to keep reading.
- Ruthie Carmichael: I don't even know what you just said...
- Lee: [about her tooth] You can hardly see it, except when you're laughing.
- Rita Carmichael: Well, it has been a while since I've laughed.
- Lee: Maybe I can fix that for you, too.
- Ruthie Carmichael: [narrating] My mom was better at loving men than choosing them. With every new town came a new boyfriend.
- Rita Carmichael: You'd make a great president, Ruthie. You know, with you as president, we wouldn't even need a vice president.
- Ruthie Carmichael: Sure, mom.
- Rita Carmichael: I don't like tomatoes, but I like tomato soup.
- Lee: That's a dichotomy.
- Rita Carmichael: A what? How do you spell "dichotomy"?