“We’ve lived in Jackson for two years now. It was New Orleans before this, Memphis before that, Atlanta, Charleston, DC, New York. Basically, we’ve lived a lot of places. Dad let me choose our new city this time, and I picked Jackson. I can’t explain it, but it felt like the place we needed to be.”

The Blake family’s frequent moves provide insight into the protagonist’s characterization and relationships. Nic’s inability to stay in one place interferes with her ability to form lasting connections, increasing the significance of the theme of Friendship. This passage also illustrates the importance of the bond between Nic and her father because he’s her only family and the one constant in her life for 10 years. In addition, the excerpt provides foreshadowing. Nic eventually learns that she and her father move frequently because they are on the run, and Jackson “felt like the place [they] needed to be” because the Msaidizi drew her there.

“I’m in a gigantic cave, but everything around me is blurry. There’s something big and dark up ahead; I can’t make out what it is. Then someone shouts, ‘Nic, run! It’s behind you!’ I’m about to turn around to look, but another gust of wind whooshes past me, and I’m back in Ms. Lena’s office.”

Nic’s unique and mysterious power to affect other Remarkables’ gifts is one of the first hints that she is the Manowari. The vision adds suspense and intrigue to the novel by offering a glimpse of a later scene in which an unknown creature chases her. This vision comes true in Chapter 19 when Alex calls out to Nic as the dragon approaches her.

“‘Some days, you may not understand the things I do, the things I’ve done,’ Dad says, ‘but protecting you is my priority. A’ight?’”

Within the immediate context, Calvin is referring to his decision not to let Nic meet her favorite author, TJ Retro, on her birthday.