My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich

“There are almost a dozen of them—all different shapes and sizes. They talk at the same time—No Joke City gibberish.”

The children become a part of Ebony-Grace’s outer space narrative, and she sees them as aliens speaking another language—“No Joke City gibberish.” The irony is that they see her as a creature from another world.

“To boldly go where no muchacha has gone before.”

Through diction, Zoboi reveals Bianca’s identity. She uses the Spanish word “muchacha” (girl), implying she is Latina. The phrase alludes to Star Trek, as the TV show featured the saying, “To boldly go where no man has gone before!”

“I look up at a faded red-and-blue sign that used to say FREEMAN’S AUTO REPAIR. Now it just reads MAN’S AU PAIR.”

The sign is one of the many humorous moments in the book, with the car shop turning into an au pair—when a family hosts someone from another country and, in exchange, the person performs domestic tasks. Thus, the stereotypically masculine car shop merges with the stereotypically feminine domestic area.

“[W]e both turn to see another group of nefarious minions—all girls wearing short-shorts, too small and too colorful T-shirts, and each one holding onto a long white telephone cord.”

Without even knowing them, Ebony-Grace turns the Nine Flavas into enemies. She labels them “nefarious minions” and judges their style. She doesn’t realize that their outfits are part of their Self-Expression and Identity Creation, just as her clothing and sci-fi jargon are part of hers.

“A lady walks by with a wide church hat and waves. […] ‘I’ll come by later to drop off a plate from church, if you like?’”

Though Momma, the news, and Ebony-Grace portray New York City as threatening and dangerous, Harlem is a community. The image of the church woman offering Ebony-Grace food demonstrates that people look after one another. This is not the Harlem she expected.

“They’re not evil. They’re my friends. And why do they have to be onions?”

Bianca stands up to Ebony-Grace and her friends, demonstrating a different identity and worldview. Her diction also separates her from Ebony-Grace, as she thinks “minions” is “onions.”

“Jesus is an astronaut!”

Ebony-Grace’s declaration qualifies as another humorous moment. She turns the Christian God into an astronaut, and the irony is that Jesus is like an astronaut—he’s seen places that “normal” humans haven’t.

“Your grandfather’s in a bit of trouble. I want you to know that he’s still a very good man who just made some bad choices, that’s all.”

Momma alludes to Granddaddy’s issues with words like “trouble” and “bad choices.” By reinforcing his decency, she reveals that people have flaws, but their flaws don’t erase their qualities. This is a useful message for Ebony-Grace, who tends to view things in black and white.

“If having some flava makes me like everyone else here, then I’d rather be an ice cream sandwich any day. But an ice cream made up of all the things in the Milky Way.”

The quote has multiple meanings. It suggests that Ebony-Grace wants a rich and nuanced personality. At the same time, it exposes her limitations: She wants a personality only built around outer space and superheroes.

“Maybe they’re a real space crew come to save me from these nefarious minionettes!”

Ebony-Grace sees a group of men near Dapper Dan’s, and the way they’re dressed makes her think of a “real space crew.” Thus, looking like someone from outer space can be cool and fit in with Harlem culture.

“A dollar’s all you got, Uncle Rich? My granddaddy gives me a whole twenty.”

The juxtaposition creates humor, as there’s a large gap between Uncle Rich’s “hush money” and the sum offered by Granddaddy. Ebony-Grace also emphasizes the irony by harping on her uncle’s name: Uncle Rich isn’t rich.

“We’re playing, but it’s not like how you play. We’re actually doing something, not pretending to be on spaceships and going to other planets or whatever.”

Bianca explains the difference between Ebony-Grace’s outer space activities and what Bianca and her friends do. Ebony-Grace isn’t in outer space; her world is imaginary. By contrast, Bianca and her group are doing something real: breaking, rapping, and doing double-Dutch.

“You don’t wanna be regular. You wanna be dynamite. You wanna be outta sight. Just…not outta space.”

Daddy shows the close relationship between Harlem diction and outer-space diction. Ebony can be “outta sight,” but maybe she shouldn’t be so “outta space.” She can be different, but she doesn’t have to be so different.

“I spot the words R.I.P. Michael Stewart written in big, red letters on the empty seat next to me.”

Zoboi continually weaves in historical moments into Ebony-Grace’s story. In 1983, New York City police brutalized and killed Michael Stewart, a Black man in his twenties, for allegedly tagging subway cars. Through Ebony-Grace, the reader learns about America’s violent, deadly history between Black people and cops.

“I’m just tired of Daddy and everybody else calling other people crazy ‘cause that’s exactly what they say about me—crazy.”

Ebony-Grace realizes that she has a lot in common with the city. People call New Yorkers “crazy,” and they call her “crazy,” too. Thus, the term becomes less objective and more like a personal opinion.

“I definitely think the Genesis Device can work here.”

Through the Genesis Device, Ebony-Grace sees hope for New York City. Later, she’ll realize that New York City doesn’t need hope: It already has life and soul. Her realization is an aspect of Growth and Acceptance.

“‘Come on, Ice Cream Sandwich!’ ‘You can’t ignore us, we ignore you!’ ‘Don’t act like you can’t hear us, Outer Space Ebony-Grace!’”

Though they express it with sassy, insulting diction, the Nine Flavas try to include Ebony-Grace in their activities. Ebony-Grace can’t set aside her imagination and join them.

“You must’ve never heard of the original Roxanne Shanté. My homegirl Butter Pecan Bianca can rap better than both Roxannes and is a fresher B-girl than Baby Love, too. Ain’t that right, Butter Pecan?”

Using references to real figures from hip-hop culture—Roxanne Shanté and Baby Love—Monique praises Bianca. Though Monique is something of a mean girl, she can also be nice and supportive.

“You tuck ‘em in for a little while so you can do what you gotta do in this real world. You think I go around talking about the Uhura and the Sonic King at the space center? No sir. Go on, now. Next time I see you, I want you to teach me that breaking-bones dance.”

Granddaddy pushes Ebony-Grace to balance her imagination with the real world. He does it; she can, too, and she does.

“She said she’s a prisoner. You don’t know nothing about prison. I gotta cousin in prison. Ain’t nobody stopping you from coming out that gate except your own doggone self.”

Monique alludes to the danger of New York City by telling Ebony-Grace that her cousin is in jail. She also calls out the difference between imagination and reality. In the material world, prison isn’t a game.

“Apollo 13 realized the plan to go to the moon wasn’t going to work, they made a new plan. They thought fast and they improvised with whatever they had on hand.”

Using space history, Ebony-Grace grows and adapts. The people on Apollo 13 couldn’t stay stubborn and stick with their mission—they would have died. Ebony-Grace, though not in a life-or-death situation, has to change.

“‘I gotta stay and look after Daddy,’ I tell her. I’m like Momma now. While she looks after her own daddy, I look after mine.”

Ebony-Grace matures to the point where she feels like she can look after her dad. She can leave her imagination and take care of another person. She has grown enough to accept her responsibilities.

“If I had the choice, I’d go to space camp. Forget all this MCing and break dancing, because that’s what everybody here wants to do.”

Pablo indicates that there is a conformity problem in Harlem. He wishes he could go to space camp, but everybody around him is dancing and raping, so he follows along.