Like A Doll (Simile)
Bug describes his friend Moira in the following way: “She’s a few months younger than me, but she looks almost like an adult today. Almost like a woman. I just look like a doll. Quiet, stiff, and blinking.” By comparing himself to a doll, Bug is contrasting his awkwardness to Moira's seeming poise.
Like A Hurricane (Simile)
Towards the end of the book, when Bug realizes his true gender identity, he says that “Everything comes together, a whirl of understanding tearing through my mind like a hurricane.” The description of the realization being like a hurricane suggests how intense and powerful it feels as it occurs to him.
Too Bright to See (Simile)
Bug says that "trying to picture myself as a teenage girl is like staring at the sun, too bright to see, and it hurts." Bug compares imagining himself as a teenage girl to staring at the sun because it's something that is overwhelming and painful, so piercing it is painful.
A Bug's Head (Metaphor)
Bug describes himself in a dress in the following way: “I look like an entirely different person from the neck down. I look like a real girl. But my head still feels the same, like myself. A Bug’s head floating above a girl’s body. I mean, it always feels that way, because I am a girl. So my head is always floating over a girl’s body.” This metaphor explains why Bug identifies so strongly with his nickname while depicting the physical separation from his body. It effectively characterizes the dissociation he experiences, as he feels as though he is hovering above himself, like a bug.
Light Bulb (Metaphor)
When Bug finally realizes his gender, he says it is like a light coming on: “That first moment I saw myself in the mirror at Moira’s house switched on a light bulb inside of me. Now I imagine taking a flashlight, rooting around in an attic, the bright beam illuminating dusty corners and the truths hiding in them.” This light metaphor connects Bug's realization with his newfound sense of brightness, as this epiphany has made him finally feel seen.
