The passage I chose is on page 141, when Octavio is thinking about the possibility of leaving Oakland and living with his aunt in Fresno: "But Oakland was home. Even if he was a little bit of a stranger here, and even if it was hard sometimes, he didn't want to go anywhere else. He wanted to stay."
This passage demonstrates Octavio's emotional connection to Oakland and reinforces our understanding of the novel as a story of belonging. Oakland is a place that is both welcoming and challenging for Octavio, but he still feels a sense of home, and doesn't want to leave. This reinforces the idea that the characters in the novel are all connected to Oakland, and that it is a place of both comfort and difficulty for them.