How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I've lived with the pretense/of perfection for seventeen/years. Give my room a cursory/inspection, you'd think I have OCD. (1.7)
Cara's joking, but she knows there's a difference between having a mental illness and just appearing to have one. The story of Cara's life is looking like one kind of person but actually being another.
Quote #2
I never would have expected/Conner to attempt the coward's way/out, though. Some consider suicide/an act of honor. I seriously don't agree. (1.15)
Cara's version of honorable is to stick it out, not check out. She's the lone twin left behind to deal with their parents—whom, we might add, seem to need therapy way more than their kids do.
Quote #3
When people ask/How he's doing now, I have/no idea what to say except for,/"Better." I don't know if that's/true, or what goes on in a place/like Aspen Springs, not that any-/one knows he's there, thank God. (1.56-57)
Cara feels she has to hide the fact that Conner's in a psychiatric hospital, and she doesn't correspond with or visit him. There's still a lot of stigma around mental illness, and even someone with whom you shared a womb can feel unsure about what to do or say.