How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I hated hurting him. Most of the time, I could forget about it, but the inexorable truth is this: They might be glad to have me around, but I was the alpha and the omega of my parents' suffering. (8.15)
If you ask us, Hazel's also the alpha and omega of teenage angst. Why does she feel like she's just a source of suffering to her parents? Is it because of the way her parents act around her or does it come from inside Hazel?
Quote #5
Mom sobbed something into Dad's chest that I wish I hadn't heard, and that I hope she never finds out that I did hear. She said, "I won't be a mom anymore." (8.16)
Wow. No wonder Hazel keeps this statement with her. It's a lot of pressure to be responsible for your mom's loss of identity.
Quote #6
"True," Lidewij said. "I do not know how you go on, without your family. I do not know." As I read […] I thought of Otto Frank not being a father anymore. (12.147)
This might be just about the worst thing to say to Hazel, who seems absolutely obsessed with how her parents will go on after she's gone. What other adults does Hazel compare her parents to?