How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Luke almost felt he knew his relatives, though they lived hundreds of miles away. And, of course, they didn't even know he existed. The letters Mother wrote back, painstakingly, late at night, when she'd saved up enough money for a stamp, contained plenty of news of Matthew and Mark, but never once had mentioned Luke's name. (5.3)
The Garners can't just lie to the Government about Luke's existence; they have to lie to everyone, even their own family members. At this point, you have to wonder if they still think it's worth it.
Quote #2
"Oh, yeah?" the girl said. "Who are you to stop them?"
Luke raised his head as much as he could. He said the first words that came into his mind. "Population Police."
The girl let go. (14.22-25)
Turns out the first words to pop in Luke's head when he meets Jen are a big fat lie. Still, it gets the response he wants: she lets go. After a life built on lies, is Luke going to be able to turn it off?
Quote #3
He was so overwhelmed with wonder at everything he'd seen at her house, everything she'd told him, that he started to say, "Did you know that Jen--"
At the last minute, he clamped his teeth shut, holding the words in. He thought he'd burst. He could feel his face flush red with the effort of keeping still. He bent his head low over his plate so nobody would see. How could he ever manage to keep Jen secret? But he had to, because if he told, they'd forbid him to go back. (16.6-7)
This is your classic lie by omission, but keeping something back can sometimes be just as bad as saying something dishonest. But what choice does Luke have? His family has basically forced him into the position of having to lie just to stay alive.