How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
For reasons I can't explain to you because at the time it just seemed like our fate, my father didn't have to keep paying the mortgage on our four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath Spanish ranch. We were what my mother called "upside down" on the house, which means you owe the bank more than it's worth. (6.21)
When her dad leaves and saddles them with an upside-down house, Pearl and her mom are left no other option but to move in with Hoyt. Right away, we see that Pearl's dad's loyalty was to no one other than himself, and we also see how destructive this is for his family and everyone around him.
Quote #2
"Are you going to tell your mom?" Robby shrugged. "It's hard to picture myself doing that. Would you be the one to do that to her?" (8.25)
Robby says this about not telling his mom about the affair—he cares more about being loyal to her than breaking her heart. Even though his dad isn't really cheating (and it wouldn't be Robby's fault if he was), Robby puts pressure on himself to be loyal to his family above everything else.
Quote #3
"Hickey's his last name, dummy," Greenie said with what I guess was an affectionate tone. Her loyalty was with Hickey now. I could feel it. (13.24)
Oh snap. It doesn't take long for Greenie to shift allegiance from Pearl to Hickey. That's pretty typical when people get new girlfriends or boyfriends, but Pearl doesn't want it to be. Yet when she starts hanging around Amiel, she ditches Greenie pretty darn fast, too, so she isn't immune to shifts in loyalty herself.
Quote #4
I won't tell anyone anything. I won't bother you. (20.1)
In her note to Amiel, Pearl tells him that his secret is safe with her. She cares a lot about being loyal to her new crush, but that alone isn't enough for her—Pearl needs Amiel to know that she's devoted to him as well. She wants to make sure that he gets that she's not going to give him up to her family.
Quote #5
All the while the blood was soaking through the towel, and as my aunt was closing Amiel's door, she gestured for him to hold up his arm and said, "Arriba del corazón." "Above the heart." I remember, along with my fear and dread, my determination not to say that he'd been juggling and thereby prove my loyalty to Amiel. (22.4)
Pearl also has to keep Amiel's secret when he busts his hand juggling machetes. A pattern starts to form where when Amiel has a secret, Pearl keeps it for him. Time and again her allegiance is put to the test, and every time, she comes through (well, for Amiel, anyway) with flying colors.
Quote #6
"I did more than my fair share of everything. […] And that meant there was never time for me to do anything that made me feel happy. I realized, finally, that I couldn't go on living like that. I don't think anyone should. (25.43)
According to Pearl's dad, he was super devoted to her and Pearl's mom. He doesn't think that it was his responsibility to work hard or provide for a family since he's a parent. Nope, he starts to question when he gets to be happy because that's what's important to him. Pearl can see that he's only loyal to himself.
Quote #7
"I don't know, either," I said, and reminded myself that Mary Beth had engaged in some sort of romance with my married uncle and was not deserving of sympathy. (37.34)
When Mary Beth comes to see her at Subway, Pearl feels sorry for her—but then she remembers this chick cheated with her uncle and remains quiet and loyal to Robby. Here's the thing, though: If Pearl wasn't so invested in remaining loyal all the time, maybe the truth about Mary Beth and Hoyt's relationship—or lack thereof—would have come out sooner.
Quote #8
The smoke was air and the air was smoke, like standing upwind of a bonfire you couldn't see. The reeds along the river were scissor gray, and water flowed through them with no particular hurry except where wind ruffled the surface. I could see the upper story of trees bending near Amiel's house, and I wanted to scream, "Amiel," but something told me to wait. I tore off my shoes and started sloshing. (44.3)
If there was ever a test of loyalty, this is it. Everyone is evacuating the area, but what does Pearl do? She goes in after Amiel. We can see here in no uncertain terms that Pearl is deeply devoted to Amiel, for better or for worse. She doesn't care that she's lying to her family and risking her life.
Quote #9
It was good, in many ways, that my phone was dying. A near-dead phone keeps you from knowing, for a while, that your father, during the largest evacuation in state history, doesn't call to see how you are. Not once. Nada. No thought whatsoever for your safety. (44.49)
Ouch. When Pearl's dad doesn't even bother to check up on her during the fire, she gets his message loud and clear: He doesn't care about her in the way that she thought he did. What's more? He's not even there for her after the fire either.
Quote #10
I didn't go past them to the roofless homesteader's house for fear I'd lead them to something they hadn't yet discovered. I'd have to find another way. I walked downstream, then worked my way around, got lost, and finally recognized the sycamore that led to the front door. (57.3)
Despite everything that's happened, Pearl still shows off her loyalty to Amiel when she heads to the woods in search of him after the fire ends. Her first concern is that she'll inadvertently lead someone straight to his squatting residence, though, so she changes directions so he doesn't get caught. She's loyal to him through and through.