How we cite our quotes:
Quote #1
All the upperclassmen wore heavy black Ray-Ban frames. All the professors, too. If Cath got a pair of black Ray-Bans, she could probably order a gin and tonic around here without getting carded. (2.110)
Because who needs a fake ID when you can pop the lenses out of a pair of sunglasses and replace them with your prescription? (Or fake lenses, if you're just in it for the hipster look, but we're pretending people don't do that. We want to keep liking humanity.)
Quote #2
He looked like someone with a steerage ticket on the Titanic. Somebody who'd be standing in line at Ellis Island. Undiluted and old-blooded. Also, cute. (4.43)
Ellis Island is where passenger ships from other countries used to enter New York, and thus the United States. "Undiluted and old-blooded" refers to immigrants who have yet to jump into the DNA melting pot. In other words, Levi's straight out of the late 19th century. Foxy.
Quote #3
"If God put me into your life to keep you from wearing a f***ing tail," Reagan said, "I accept the assignment." (5.29)
When it comes to tails, we say you do you. Reagan could not agree with us less, though.
Quote #4
Reagan wore eyeliner all the way around her eyes. Like a hard-ass Kate Middleton. And even though she was bigger than most girls—big hips, big chest, wide shoulders—she carried herself like she was exactly the size everyone else wanted to be. (6.101)
Revelation: If you truly think you're awesome, other people will too. Want other people to think you're hot? Convince yourself first.
Quote #5
"Wear something that doesn't have Simon Snow on it, so that people won't assume your brain stopped developing when you were seven." (6.122)
Can you be too old to like things geared toward children? What's the cutoff age for Harry Potter or My Little Pony?
Quote #6
She was wearing a pink dress and brown tights, and brown ankle boots with heels and little green buttons up the side. They were Cath's boots, but Cath was never brave enough to wear them. (7.107)
It's not so much about bravery as life experience. You can be confident in some ways and still awkward in others—for example, Cath's confident in her fanfiction-writing abilities, but footwear is another story.
Quote #7
"Look at you. All sweatered up. What are those, leg sweaters?" (9.11)
Cath goes into Starbucks looking like the poster child for knitting, but hey, it's winter in Omaha. Levi still makes her special coffee. Moral of the story: Legwarmers are awesome.
Quote #8
He was wearing a thick, navy blue turtleneck sweater that made him look like he was serving on a Soviet battleship. Like, even more so than usual. (12.22)
Writer girl Cath has a tendency to imagine people as characters, to assign them imaginary histories, based on what they're wearing. We all do it to some extent, but Cath does it more creatively than most.
Quote #9
When she and Wren divided up their clothes, Wren had taken anything that said "party at a boy's place" or "leaving the house." Cath had taken everything that said "up all night writing" or "it's okay to spill tea on this." (16.141)
The way Cath and Wren look on the outside shows the way they feel on the inside—Wren acts out, and Cath acts in. When their mom left was when they split into two separate people.
Quote #10
"Ugg boots. In fashionable places, you have to pretend that you're over them, or that you've always hated them. But in Nebraska, you can still be happy about new Ugg boots. That's nice. There's no end of the innocence." (22.36)
You can still be happy about new Simon Snow books, too, Cath—just maybe don't wear a witch hat to the release party.