Purple goldfish crackers represent the degree to which different characters in the Wei-Evans family stand out. Lea finds these goldfish at Target, and she likes them because they are not sold in Hong Kong. Lea finds the goldfish during the same shopping trip in which Knox accidentally dismantles a display of soda, costing his family $100. It is significant that the goldfish are introduced at this point in the narrative, because it shows Knox’s impediment to feeling as though he’s fully assimilated to his life in the US through his ADHD. His impulsive tendencies are frequently what separate him from his brother and cause Bowen to tell him that he does not fit in.

Other people stand out in different ways in the novel in the same manner that the purple goldfish stands out to Lea. Bowen stands out because of his appearance that highlights his Asian heritage, something his siblings do not exhibit. Julie stood out in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong, because her parents are Mandarin-speaking Chinese, and she stood out in the US in her childhood because of her birth name, Wei Wei. Christopher’s family stands out because of their Chinese heritage and this causes people to avoid their restaurant.