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Trina Baker
Uncle David is Juli’s uncle and Robert’s younger brother. He was born with the umbilical cord wrapped too tightly around his neck, and he suffers from an intellectual disability as a result. The Bakers pay for his care at a local facility called Greenhaven, a major financial strain that forces Robert to work overtime. Juli’s parents don’t often talk about David with her or Matt and Mike, but not because they’re ashamed of him—rather, they don’t want to burden their children with worry. After visiting him on his 40th birthday, Juli becomes especially protective of her gentle, puzzle-loving uncle. This bond becomes central when she overhears Garrett mocking him in the school library and Bryce fails to intervene, causing a major rift between her and Bryce.
Uncle David Quotes in Flipped
The Flipped quotes below are all either spoken by Uncle David or refer to Uncle David. 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:
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Chapter 7: Get a Grip, Man Quotes
Where would I be if things had been different? What would they have done with me? From the way my dad was talking, he wouldn’t have had much use for me, that’s for sure. He’d have stuck me in a nuthouse somewhere, anywhere, and forgotten about me. But then I thought, No! I’m his kid. He wouldn’t do that . . . would he?
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Chapter 8: The Yard Quotes
I felt sorry for my father. I felt sorry for my mother. But most of all I felt lucky for me that they were mine.
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Chapter 9: Looming Large and Smelly Quotes
He’d crossed the line, man. He’d crossed it big-time.
And what made the whole thing so stinking hard to ignore was the fact that standing right next to him, on the other side of the line, was my father.
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Chapter 12: The Dinner Quotes
As I looked around, it struck me that we were having dinner with a group of strangers. We’d lived across the street for years, but I didn’t know these people at all.
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Uncle David Character Timeline in Flipped
The timeline below shows where the character Uncle David appears in Flipped. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7: Get a Grip, Man
...rent their house, and their landlord has neglected it. He also reveals that Juli’s uncle (David) is intellectually disabled, and much of the family’s energy goes toward caring for him. Bryce’s...
(full context)
...if the doctor hadn’t been so quick, he could have ended up like Juli’s uncle (David). That was why Patsy broke down. Chet then suggests he and Bryce take a walk....
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Chapter 8: The Yard
...yard. Embarrassed, Trina begs Robert to do something about it. The conversation shifts to Uncle David, Juli’s intellectually disabled uncle whom they rarely mention in front of her. Trina suggests it...
(full context)
Chapter 9: Looming Large and Smelly
...him all about the eggs, Juli’s crusade to make her yard beautiful, and Juli’s Uncle David. But when Garrett makes a cruel joke about Juli inheriting her uncle’s disability, Bryce is...
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Chapter 10: The Visit
...wakes early after a restless night and finds her father heading out to visit Uncle David, whose 40th birthday is today. She insists on joining him, and Robert hesitantly agrees. At...
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Everything goes smoothly at the ice cream parlor—until David drops his cone and has a meltdown, crying and screaming on the floor. While Robert...
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...the library talking about her uncle. She listens as Garrett makes a cruel joke about David’s disability and Bryce does nothing to defend her. She can’t understand this level of cruelty,...
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Chapter 14: The Basket Boys
Juli tells Trina everything—overhearing Bryce talking with Garrett in the library about Uncle David, the attempted kiss, and how hard she’s been trying to get over him. But then...
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