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Mr. Bicknell
Aunt Roxie is Mrs. Paquette’s sister and the wife of Uncle Tony. Once a waitress in a roller-derby bar, in middle age Aunt Roxie co-owns a lucrative party planning business with her husband. She and Uncle Tony enjoy spoiling their niece and nephews Ben, Sara, and Tyler. Her adventurous side comes to the fore when she and Uncle Tony take Tyler and Mari to North Carolina to retrieve Mamá from the human traffickers who have been holding her hostage, and she exemplifies kindness and generosity in the way she treats Mamá on the trip.
Aunt Roxie Quotes in Return to Sender
The Return to Sender quotes below are all either spoken by Aunt Roxie or refer to Aunt Roxie . 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 2 Quotes
“I meant to say hi to the girls,” Mom explains.
Tyler puts his head in his hands so he doesn’t have to see anything but his bowl of cereal. Too late he remembers his mother has told him this is rude. Horses have blinkers, not humans. But sometimes, Tyler hates to tell her, sometimes he would just as soon see less, not more, of the world around him, a world full of accidents, bad luck, and Mom’s good ideas.
But maybe because he just got home yesterday, his mom doesn’t say anything about his blinkers. Instead she starts in on the sappy stuff that always makes Tyler cave in to her good ideas. “They don’t seem to have a mother and they’re just cooped up in that trailer. It’d be really nice if you maybe just popped in and made them feel welcome.”
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Chapter 7 Quotes
We spent the rest of the time walking around the city. Even Sara didn’t complain or ask to go shopping. But we didn’t see any demonstrators like we had seen on television. The streets were calm and full of people enjoying the beautiful spring weather. Everywhere there were so many flowers, like Nature was celebrating its quinceañera.
At first, Mamá clung to my hand, afraid she’d be picked up. But soon, she, too, relaxed as if she realized this was not just the capital of one country, but the home of everyone who loves freedom.
One of the places we visited was this stone wall engraved with the names of thousands upon thousands of soldiers who fought and died in a war not long ago. The stone was black and shiny, so you could see your reflection as well as the blooming trees and the clouds in the sky.
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Chapter 9 Quotes
What’s funny, well, not so funny, is that a yar ago, I just wouldn’t have accepted the idea of not living here. It kind of drove me crazy, if you want to know the truth. My parents had to ship me off to my aunt and uncle’s just to get my mind off the worry.
But now, I don’t know. I still think this has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth—like you yourself said. But somehow, though the idea of not farming still makes me real sad, I can accept it a lot better. Maybe losing Gramps helped me practice losing? Or just knowing what you and your family have gone through makes me feel like it could be a lot worse. Also, I guess I’m seeing other sides that might be fun, like having more time for things I love besides farming.
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Aunt Roxie Character Timeline in Return to Sender
The timeline below shows where the character Aunt Roxie appears in Return to Sender. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...a year off school to help out, but she just shipped him off to his Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony in Boston.
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...jealous his 15-year-old sister, Sara, was that he got to spend a whole month with Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony, a middle-aged couple who run a party-planning business and who spoil their...
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Chapter 6
...on the 4-H trip, and how much money he would need to raise, especially since Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony forgot to send him a birthday check. But, a few days after...
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Chapter 7
But perhaps the biggest surprise of all comes from Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony, who offer to take Tyler and some friends a personal trip to...
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...2006, Mari writes a letter to Papá, Tío Armando, Ofie, and Luby, describing the trip. Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony are kindhearted people. The only trouble they face on their trip down...
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The next morning, Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony drive Mari, Tyler, and Sara to the bus station the coyotes specified....
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While Mari is outside, Tyler is inside the station confessing to Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony that they’re not meeting friends but the human smugglers who have been...
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That afternoon, Aunt Roxie takes Sara (who has been desperate to go shopping), Mari, and Mamá to the mall,...
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The most wonderful surprise of all is when Uncle Tony and Aunt Roxie stop for a day and a half in Washington, D.C. on the way home. Tyler,...
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Chapter 8
...2006). Mari’s plan bears fruit. The Department of Homeland Security agrees to release Mamá into Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony’s custody while the family waits for the outcome of Papá’s court case....
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Chapter 9
...not to read it until she’s opened his goodbye present—his telescope. He’s planning on asking Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony for a new one for Christmas, and then he and Mari will...
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