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E.J.
Jade’s best friend in her North Portland neighborhood. Lee Lee is an aspiring poet and she attends Northside, the local high school. She and Jade see each other and they talk often when they’re not at school. Because of their years of shared experiences (and the fact that both girls are black), Lee Lee and Jade don’t have to work very hard to connect and understand each other. For instance, Lee Lee understands exactly why Jade is so upset about Natasha Ramsey, a young black girl who experiences police brutality. After a long day spent at St. Francis, Jade doesn’t have to temper her blackness around Lee Lee. Lee Lee is the one to introduce Jade to the story of York, the black slave who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition to find the Pacific Ocean. Much of Lee Lee’s homework suggests that Northside isn’t as bad of a school as people in Portland might think; Lee Lee’s projects are engaging and they ask her to think about the structures of racism and prejudice that exist in the world. As an aspiring poet, Lee Lee has a firm grasp of how to use language to get what she wants. Because of this, Lee Lee is the first one who’s able to get through to Jade that she’ll never get what she wants if she never asks for it. Later, the girls put this idea to work when they begin to plan a benefit (which features an open mic poetry reading and an art show) in honor of Natasha Ramsey.
Lee Lee Quotes in Piecing Me Together
The Piecing Me Together quotes below are all either spoken by Lee Lee or refer to Lee Lee. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 40
Quotes
I haven’t spent much time with Sam. Partly because I usually have something to do after school, but mostly because I don’t know how to be around her when I know she doesn’t think that salesclerk treated me wrong. I don’t even think she feels the tension between us. She has moved on and acts like everything is fine, but me? I’m stuck wondering if I can truly be friends with someone who doesn’t understand what I go through, how I feel.
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Chapter 44
Quotes
“You need to talk to whoever is in charge. Have you said anything to anyone?”
I don’t answer.
“They can’t read your mind. I mean, I get what you’re saying—some of that stuff is a little corny, and a lot of it is offensive. But I don’t know; what’s the better option? Stay silent, leave the program, and they never have a chance to do better?”
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“All right, all right. I’ll think about it,” I tell Lee Lee. I don’t know why I never considered it before. Here I am, so focused on learning to speak another language, and I barely use the word I already know.
I need to speak up for myself. For what I need, for what I want.
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Get the entire Piecing Me Together LitChart as a printable PDF.
Lee Lee Quotes in Piecing Me Together
The Piecing Me Together quotes below are all either spoken by Lee Lee or refer to Lee Lee. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 40
Quotes
I haven’t spent much time with Sam. Partly because I usually have something to do after school, but mostly because I don’t know how to be around her when I know she doesn’t think that salesclerk treated me wrong. I don’t even think she feels the tension between us. She has moved on and acts like everything is fine, but me? I’m stuck wondering if I can truly be friends with someone who doesn’t understand what I go through, how I feel.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 44
Quotes
“You need to talk to whoever is in charge. Have you said anything to anyone?”
I don’t answer.
“They can’t read your mind. I mean, I get what you’re saying—some of that stuff is a little corny, and a lot of it is offensive. But I don’t know; what’s the better option? Stay silent, leave the program, and they never have a chance to do better?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“All right, all right. I’ll think about it,” I tell Lee Lee. I don’t know why I never considered it before. Here I am, so focused on learning to speak another language, and I barely use the word I already know.
I need to speak up for myself. For what I need, for what I want.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
