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Mrs. Parker
Jade’s uncle; E.J. is Mom’s much younger brother. Since E.J. is only 20, Jade feels as though he is more of a sibling than an uncle. E.J. is an aspiring deejay, but in Jade’s opinion, he has been in a tough spot since his best friend, Alan, was murdered sometime before the novel begins. In the last year, E.J. dropped out of college and lost his job, and he now sleeps on Mom’s couch. He deejays gigs and says that he’s looking for another job, but Jade doesn’t believe this—and she also doesn’t believe that E.J. is fine, even though E.J. insists he is. Jade finds E.J.’s current crop of friends troubling, especially since E.J. assures her and Mom that he doesn’t join his friends in activities that Mom and Jade wouldn’t approve of. Despite E.J.’s faults and difficult circumstances, he’s still an involved, supportive, and loving uncle to Jade. He’s goofy and he teases her, but he also gives his real, unfiltered opinions about things such as the police brutality that Natasha Ramsey experiences. He insists that praying is silly and for poor people who have no other way to make a difference; instead of praying, he suggests, the black community needs to protest and contact their police chiefs and other elected officials. E.J. is also fiercely loyal to his sister and so he speaks poorly about Dad whenever he has the opportunity. He sleeps on the couch in the living room, which is both a source of shame for Jade and a source of humor throughout the novel—he can and does sleep through everything going on in their tiny house.
E.J. Quotes in Piecing Me Together
The Piecing Me Together quotes below are all either spoken by E.J. or refer to E.J.. 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 47 Quotes
I stare at the picture, can’t stop looking at her face, at how she looks like someone who lives in my neighborhood. Maybe she used to?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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E.J. Character Timeline in Piecing Me Together
The timeline below shows where the character E.J. appears in Piecing Me Together. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapters 1 - 2
...that she put ice cream on the list. Mom laughs that she thought that was E.J., Jade’s 20-year-old uncle and she promises to try if she has enough money.
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Chapters 5 - 6
...Lee Lee arrives and the girls talk about their day over bowls of ice cream. E.J. interrupts and he tries to steal Jade’s ice cream. When he leaves, Lee Lee says...
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Chapter 9
At home, E.J. is already folding down the sofa for bed. Mom is on her way out to...
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Chapter 10
...meeting earlier. Jade doesn’t want to let Maxine in—she doesn’t want her to see that E.J. sleeps on the couch—but she shuts the door to prep the house. E.J. tells Jade...
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...Maxine’s beliefs come from never having lived in a tiny house with a leaky roof. E.J. enters the living room, greets Maxine, and says that she and Jon will definitely get...
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Chapter 14
...and Lee Lee. Later, Dad is going to stop by and drop off his gift. E.J. asks if Dad is buying things with wishes or with “that white lady’s money,” and...
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Chapters 20 - 21
Jade’s mind suddenly fills up. Mom had lots of dreams, E.J. is extremely confident, and Lee Lee wants to be a poet—but having dreams doesn’t mean...
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Chapter 22
...at Zack’s Burgers. He tells Jade she has to come, but Jade only accepts because E.J. gave her some money. Kennedy greets Jade and she says that since Jade walks to...
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Chapter 27
For Thanksgiving, E.J. and Lee Lee join Mom and Jade for their traditional volunteer shift at the Portland...
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...meeting up with teens from a program at the Native American Youth and Family Center. E.J. remembers doing that exchange too. Jade is embarrassed—she didn’t even know there was a Native...
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Chapter 40
...been slow and quiet. Mom is working extra shifts to save for a car and E.J. has spent a lot of time at the studio, so Jade spends time home alone....
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Chapter 47
Jade is running late for school. She walks past E.J. still lying on the couch on his phone, and he asks if she heard what...
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Jade suggests they say a prayer, but E.J. snaps that prayer is for poor people and that God won’t help them—they need to...
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Chapter 59
...write on the handouts so that she can more easily share them with Lee Lee, E.J., and Mom.
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Chapter 61
E.J. has started deejaying at a restaurant on Thursdays and Fridays, so Jade is home alone....
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Chapter 65
...her makeup and then she does her own. Jade is in the living room when E.J. gets home, and he asks if Jade has a date. When Maxine comes out of...
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Chapters 72 - 73
...Fortunately, she goes into her room without embarrassing Jade. The girls continue planning the benefit. E.J. has agreed to deejay, while Maxine and Mia are working on promoting the event. Josiah...
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