"Sugar bites a hundred times, breaking skin and making you bleed." (p.6)

"After we buy cloth, seeds, lamp oil, and chicken feed, we'll be just as poor as when we were slaves." (p.9)

"Stars are blinking." (p.10)

"Mister Petey pounds his thighs like a drum." (p.12)

"I run past cane fields, then up the grassy knoll where the big house sits to keep dry when the river overflows."

"I'm madder than a bee." (p.23)

"I'm wriggling, fighting like a catfish on a line." (p.23)

"The river's nice, lapping at the wood, gentle soft." (p.35)

"On the river, hearing water while a soft wind strokes your cheek." (p.35)

"Still, body swaying, hearing the whoosh-whoosh waves, seeing lands pass by, the empty cane fields, I feel happy, free." (p.36)

"Usually Billy's nice. Lizzie, too. But Lizzie's trying to protect me and Billy's not used to back talk. Both look like skunks ready to fight." (p.37)

"Tree bark scratches me. Pine needles cling to my hair." (p. 40)

"I hold my breath. I hear bells. Not the clang of the cowbell on the plantation, but something more delicate, tinkling. Maybe it's Ma, answering me." (p.42)

"I've told you a hundred times." (p.49)

"I listen hard. 'Chinamen.' Whisper-whisper-whisper. 'Chinamen.'" (p.69)

"Even though the day is bright, worry and fear are striking like invisible lightning and silent thunderbolts." (p.69)

"...picking up a handful of pebbles, I throw. Crack. Crack. Crack. Pebbles bounce off the house and window. Still Billy doesn't wake up." (p.73)

"Our hands wrap together like the colors on the finger trap...'Next time,' he says, 'let's do blood.'" (p.79-80)

All the River Road men line up, trying to look fierce, like warriors." (p.97)

"Horses clop-clop, then stop." (p.98)

"Chains are awful. Like eagles with broken wings." (p.101)

"The Chinamen's eyes are black, shaped like a leaf." (p.101)

"The Chinamen...walk in a line like Mississippi ducks swimming after their mother..."

"I look back. All the River Road folks look like ghosts. Pinched faces. Sour mouths. Clenched hands." (p.105)

"In unison, Chinamen carol, 'Ni hao. Ni hao." They bow, their chins touching their chests, folding like a tree bows in the wind." (p.105)

"Mister Beale has been like a pa to me." (p.104)

"Mister Wills clears his throat. He looks like a squished bear, all stomach with a little head. His voice booms, 'Mister Tom will make sure none of you cheat me of an honest wage."

"Across the yard, Mister Beale, Reverend, and Mister Petey are watching me like hawks." (p.125)

"I also feel like I can fly...It's exciting meeting new friends." (p.129)

"Mister Wills and Billy are bewildered. Overseer Tom is sputtering like a lame rooster." (p.130)

"...all the River Road folks walk and stand beside a Chinese man. I stand beside Beau. Then, almost like a dance, we all start moving." (p.131)

"Like Br'er Rabbit, grown folks are tricking Mister Wills and Overseer Tom." (p.132)

"'We come from China. To Guiana. Then New Orlean, See.' Beau marks a spot. The ground is telling a story." (p.139)

"'You're the wave, Sugar,' says Mister Beale. For the first time, I think it's fine to be new, to be young, not old." (p.141)

"I hear a whistle. Billy!" (p.143)

"Your pa can bring you the world. Snap his fingers and make Chinese appear." (p.148)

"Billy lands on the dirt. He doesn't look up but runs faster than lightning. Faster than I've ever seen him. He doesn't look back." (p.151)

"The Overseer beats the triangle with a metal rod. Clang-clang. Time to get up. Cane time!" (p.151)

"Shadows of crosses crisscross, overlap one another. Three black willows stand guard over the sad piles...'Over two hundred graves,' say Mister Beale." (p.161)

"'Sugar's hard,' I shout. 'Hurts everything. Everyone.' Mister Beale stands beside me. 'Sugar kills.' 'Amen,' says Reverend." (p.161)

"I feel like sugar, ready to boil over. Billy might die like Ma." (p.172)

"Billy turns his head toward me, his eyes horribly dark. I whoosh, whistle bad." (p.175)

"When we were slaves, the Overseer smacked his whip against any sick person's back. He'd say, 'The lash is the best medicine.' He never struck me; I was too little." (p.179)

"'Like this,' Billy stands, then--boing, boing--bounces on the bed. 'I'm Br'er Rabbit,' I holler. 'I'm free.' Then--boing, boing--I fall on the bed." (p.187)

"Billy blushes. 'Ma, does this mean me and Sugar can play? Always?" he presses, his face sweet, his eyes wide, lashes batting, looking like one of them angels Reverend talks about." (p.188)

"This morning, Billy's joined us in the field again. Missus Wills shrieks like a hen chased by a fox. 'Billy, you stop working this instant! Stop it! Mister Wills, stop him. He's not well." (p.193)

"The Overseer growls, scowling, pulling like a bear, and still, the finger trap doesn't snap." (p.200)

"I scream, hands and knees tight, head down, protecting my face and arms. Trembling, I know what's coming. I hear it--swoosh--but I don't feel it." (p.201)

"The red kite is dancing, swirling and spiraling, and looking prettier than a flock of birds." (p.207)

"'You're time's coming,' says Mister Tom, looking at Beau, then me. He moves backward into the brush, like we were snapping gators."

"Me and Billy grunt. Whack. I can't sing. I can't speak. Whack-whack-whack. I hate, hate, hate sugar! Then I grin... My friend Billy works beside me. Sugar brought..Beau. It's getting harder to hate sugar.: (p.232)

"Beau is a yellow big-headed, big eyed, big-mouthed dragon." (p.239)

"Mister Tom looks awful. Angry, scared. Hurt. Evil, like a devil, all mixed up. 'Not sorry,' he says, disappearing into the night shadows." (p.243)

"Flames lick the walls, the empty cauldron." (p.244)

"I didn't know you could sell a whole world." (p.257)

"You're both acting like Hyena...Missus Beale. Hyena wouldn't leave if his village caught fire...Please, Mister and Missus Beale. Let's go. There's nothing here." (p.268)

"I run outside, shout from the porch, 'Me and the Beales are going north.' Neighbors hoot, whistle, and clap." (p.270)