The dinner scene on the literal second page has a good one.
Raina: I thought that (why we haven't had a family reunion in almost ten years) was 'cause you didn't get along with your siblings. Amara: Speaking of which ... (Amara and Raina start arguing)
Raina's flashback to her sister being brought home from the hospital.
Young Raina: You're sure this is a girl? Denis/Sue/Grandma: Yep. (beat) Young Raina: Prove it.
And the moment Raina holds Amara, the latter starts crying due to being a grumpy, newborn baby; Raina asks if her mom chose to name her new sister 'Dana':
Sue: Actually, I'd like to call her Amara. Young Raina: What? What kind of name is that?! Sue: It means "immortal" in Sanskrit, and "love" in Latin. Denis: It also means "bitter one," but your mom likes it, so that's that.
In the next flashback, Amara chooses to draw on the floor away from her older sister. When Sue comes in and touches her arm, Amara throws a tantrum. The funny part happens when Denis shows up and is… less than helpful.
(Denis pokes his head into the room) Young Raina: What's wrong with her, Mom? Sue: I'm not sure... maybe she's hungry? Denis: Maybe we should feed her to the wolves! (Sue storms out, pissed off) Denis: That was ajoke!
A subtle one, but Will doesn't know what "The Incident" is - meaning he sat right on top of a hungry snake for the entire first two-thirds of the trip and he didn't even notice! It's kinda darkly funnyin hindsight when you think about it.
While riding in the car, Amara tries to get Raina's attention (she's listening to her Walkman).
(POM!) Raina: OW! What was that for?! Amara: Punch bug! I called it… you just didn't hear me.
And later:
Amara: You'd hear better without those stupid headphones on. Raina: WHAT? Amara: YOU'D HEAR— never mind.
Raina and Amara bond through while making fun of Nevada. When Amara asks Raina if she has any colored pencil, Raina says no. Raina's Walkman dies and:
Raina: Amara, can I borrow your Walkman? Amara: Can I borrow your colored pencils? (the two start fighting off panel, only to be interrupted by a storm)
While staying in a cabin, Amara asks her mom where they are:
Sue: Uh… we're in Lovelock, Nevada. Amara: Area code 666, I presume?
"Nothing like a bunch of dead animals to start your morning off right."
Literally everything about the "fish flashback subplot":
Raina and Amara's arguments about their respective fish.
Young Raina: Your fish is gross. Young Amara: Your fish is ugly. Young Raina: Your fish is stinky. Young Amara: Your fish is stupid. (Bubbly is belly side up in the fish bowl) Young Raina: Your fish is dead. (Sue glares at Raina while Amara starts crying) Young Raina: WHAT?!
The final pet is a chameleon named Leland. Chameleons eat crickets, so they go out and buy a bunch. Too much, as it becomes apparent the next morning:
Young Raina: THE CRICKETS ATE LELAND?! Young Amara: (sobbing) They sucked out his guts! (Cut to yet another family pet funeral) Denis: (wide-eyed look that screams "Where did I go wrong?...")
And it turns out that they won't be getting pets for a few while; after all, a baby brother is on the way!
While visiting a museum for dinosaurs, Raina complains about the heat, causing Amara to ask if she can deal. Their mother then warns them about a swarm of bugs, leading to...
(elapse time: 0.2 seconds; every single mosquito bites Amara) Amara: AAUGH! MOSQUITO BITES! STUPID BUGS! Raina: Who loves nature now?
Later, Will hands Amara a backscratcher from the gift shop (see the page image) while sporting the cutest little grin ever.
Amara and Will are sick of mashed potatoes and cup'o'noodles. Their mom ain't havin' it.
Not that that stops Amara from whining while the family goes stargazing:
Amara: Dad would've gotten us McDonald's…
Why Raina is afraid of snakes: while camping with her parents, she went exploring for blackberries and stepped on one. When Amara admits that that sounds pretty gross, Raina tells her that it was dead. Amara and the reader nearly fall over laughing.
Raina forgets to use the bathroom while at a rest stop. Without a word, her mother stops the van at a forest and hands her a roll of toilet paper while perfectly demonstrating her annoyance at her eldest daughter's stupidity. Also, Amara cackling in the background is pretty chuckleworthy.
Amara gets punished, though, when the Telgemeiers start driving through the Rocky Mountains while she's sleeping and her ears hurt due to atmosphere pressure changes.
Don't piss off Sue. ESPECIALLY when she's behind the wheel. Her kids learn this the hard way.
Apparently, Denis' idea of a meal consists of: cheese.
Raina's cousins call her "Penelope" for… reasons, and say she's not a "real" comic book fan.
Raina passing out on the floor of Lindsay's bedroom, which begs the question: did Lindsay walk around her cousin's sleeping body, undress, shower, put on pajamas, and go to bed without waking her up? Answer: Yes.
Also, Amara has Raina's pillow when she comes downstairs.
Amara quickly takes to hogging the family computer to use the drawing program with a blanket over her head. After several summons from their parents fail to pull her away, Raina gets her attention by claiming Bambi is on TV; Amara gives her a Death Glare when Raina says "Made you look" and goes back to drawing.
Raina steals some of Lindsay's makeup and puts it on. Amara seems to be the only person who notices:
Amara: EW, WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR FACE?! (Raina gets wide-eyed)
In a flashback to a few months before the road trip Sue and Denis give Raina her own room as she's about to start high school. She's ecstatic… until she learns that Amara gets to have a pet snake. Oh, boy...
It turns out that the snake only eats live mice, so Sue tries to take it back to the pet store. It wriggles out of the bag and hides under the passenger seat. Raina, thankfully, doesn't find out until after she comes home.
Amara: But aren't you glad we told you after picking you up from Girl Scouts?
Immediately after that flashback is over, Raina wakes up to a familiar, disturbing sound.
Raina: SNAKE?!?! Amara: It's just Uncle Bill frying bacon, you moron.
Raina's response to her mother questioning why she and Amara keep fighting: "You just spent a week arguing with your brothers and sisters." Sue immediately throws both her daughters into the car and drives to the airport.
Amara ruins her father's joke.
Denis: Now you know the real reason I can't ride home with you, Will. I'd just drive your mother crazy. Amara: But the rest of us driving each other crazy is acceptable? [the rest of the family gives her a funny look] Amara: Don't look at me — you made this awkward all on your own.
New Mexico's state insect is the Tarantula Hawk wasp, much to Raina's dismay.
Raina refuses to leave her room until they get the snake out the car. Sue lures her out with cookies.
Raina's reaction to Amara and Sue's plan:
Raina: Mango has been hiding in the front seat of the van for the past twenty-four hours, and he's probably starving... Amara: Yep. Raina: So how do you plan to get him out? (beat) (Amara holds up a box of mice with a nervous smile while Raina faceplants into the table)
Unsurprisingly, the problem hasn't been resolved.
Raina: What are we going to do? Sue: I guess... we just let Mango... die in there? Raina: ... Amara: Hey, Mom— if Mango doesn't eat that baby mouse, can I keep it as a pet? [Raina screams in exasperation] Raina: All right— this is nuts. I'm not riding in your car until this incident is over. Amara: Hey, Mom, aren't we going on a road trip to Colorado in two months? Sue: Oh, I'm sure everything will be okay by then. Raina: It better be.
Amara: Chill out, would you? Raina: Chill out? CHILL OUT? We're in the middle of nowhere... it's a million degrees... Mom and Will are out there with God knows who, and now... (beeeeeeeoop) ...AND NOW MY STUPID WALKMAN'S DEAD AGAIN!! Amara: Would it be the end of the world for you to not have your walkman on for a few hours?! Raina: YES.
