How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
What did my life used to be like? That was the question that ping-ponged through my brain during the rest of the school day. What had my life been like before I'd been able to feel? Before Alex had come along? Before the electricity had shown up? Oddly enough, even though the majority of my life had been spent without all of this, it didn't feel like it. (5.56)
The thing about being emotionless is that Gemma doesn't have emotional ties to any of her memories. None of her past experiences stand out to her because she doesn't consider them important; it's all just one long boring blur.
Quote #2
It was my Birth Certificate. My fingers trembled as I read my mother's name listed at the bottom. Jocelyn Lucas. It was the first time I ever saw her name, yet it felt as familiar as my own. It was a beautiful name. I bet she was beautiful too. (10.37)
Gemma really doesn't know anything about her past. Sophia and Marco have kept so much from her that she doesn't even know her own mother's name until she goes snooping in their room.
Quote #3
It had felt very real—too real. Like I had seen it before. Lived it before. Maybe I had. The mother had called the little girl Gemma. But then why had I called the woman, who I was certain wasn't Sophia, Mama? My mother had died when I was one, and the little girl had to be at least four. (11.117)
The vision of the little girl and the woman that Gemma sees when she looks into the telescope feels like it could be a memory, but that's impossible. After all, her mother died when she was one… right? At least that's what she's been told her whole life.
Quote #4
"Maybe. But she also might already be down there." He sighed. "Sometimes when someone inexperienced tries to see into the future, they just end up seeing something that has already happened."
"So she could be down there right now!" The loudness of my voice made us both glance around nervously. (22.44-45)
Gemma is worried that the scene at the lake is about to happen, but Alex explains to her that it might be a memory. See, she's not a very experienced Foreseer; she's just getting started.
Quote #5
His forehead creased over. "You know, I'm really surprised you don't remember anything about her."
"How could I?" I wondered. "I was only a year old when she died."
He stared at me, dumbfounded. "No you weren't. You were four." (23.81-83)
So here's another thing that Gemma's been lied to about for her whole life: She was four when her mother disappeared, which makes it strange that she doesn't remember her. Why wouldn't she have any early childhood memories?
Quote #6
He shook his head. "Memory loss isn't a side effect from getting bitten. Something else had to happen to me. The only thing I can remember about that night is coming out of a club alone and thinking I heard a noise from behind me. When I turned around, everything went black. I'm not sure if I blacked out or what but when I did come to, I was sprawled out in an alley with a bite mark on my neck." (23.164)
Other vampires remember being bitten as this huge, life-changing event, but for some reason, Laylen doesn't recall what happened to him at all. He still doesn't know who bit him that night.
Quote #7
Ignoring him, I let the tunnel zoom in on the woman's face. Her bright blue irises, her warm smile, everything became clear, and I knew I had seen her before. But I had already figured that out as soon as I caught sight of the little girl's eyes. If this little girl in the vision was me, then the woman had to be my mother. (29.50)
The more Gemma spends time in the vision at the lake, the more she realizes that it's a memory she has from her own childhood. This is the only way that she's been able to see her mother's face again.
Quote #8
"[…] So, instead of taking your soul, Sophia did something a little less severe. She detached your soul from your emotions. And since emotions have such a huge connection with memories, it made it so you couldn't remember anything about your past." (30.49)
The reason that Gemma can't remember anything from her childhood is that her memories are no longer connected to her emotions. And without emotions, she doesn't feel the need to remember anything. She has no emotional connection to things that happened to her in the past.
Quote #9
"Look, Gemma, maybe you saw it wrong. Maybe it was someone else who forced your mom to go into the lake. I mean, Dyvinius said that you didn't see the vision correctly the first time. Who's to say you didn't see correctly the second time either?" (32.13)
Alex is desperate for Gemma to say that the vision isn't real and that it's not an actual memory from her childhood. After all, he can't bear to think that his father would do something so cruel.
Quote #10
I clutched onto the edge of the couch as my head started to hum. I was slipping away. I could feel it—the life leaving my body. I tried to think of my mom, her bright blue irises, and her warm smile.
I tried to picture the life I never knew. (36.61-62)
As Stephan starts to take away Gemma's soul and mind, she focuses on the one person who actually loved and cared for her—her mother. This is the only truly loving memory that Gemma carries with her.