How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Even the way he looked had completely changed. He had wrinkles around his eyes. The gray in his hair shone in the dim morning light. (1.8)
Mr. Byron's appearance changes dramatically after the death of his wife. It ages him.
Quote #2
Everything had changed and there was nothing we could do about it. Two blocks away, a guy had run a red light. He had killed Mom. (1.45-1.46)
Mrs. Byron's death changes everything for her family. Then things change even more after that.
Quote #3
"What is the name of this boat again?" I asked.
"Chrysalis," Dylan said. (3.7-3.8)
Symbolism alert. In nature, a chrysalis is the vessel in which a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. In this book, it's the vessel in which boys become men (or, in Gerry's case, bigger boys).
Quote #4
"We need to get ready for tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?" I asked.
"We're moving on," he said. (10.12-10.14)
Mr. Byron doesn't do a great job of keeping his sons informed about the changes he has planned.
Quote #5
I never knew from one day—or hour—to the next how things would look or what people would do or how I would feel. It was like constantly falling down. It was always a surprise. (11.3)
At home (on land), Ben felt like he knew what to expect. At sea, all bets are off.
Quote #6
School and friends, parents and brothers, my bike and the boat, and sometimes just me—just me, a wide sky, and an open space of time. It seemed like something a person could always have. It seemed like something you could depend on, something you could trust. I was wrong. (13.25-13.26)
Ben has learned that the things you rely on—the people and the stuff that seem most fundamental to your life—aren't necessarily permanent. This realization shakes him up a lot.
Quote #7
This Chrysalis was very different from the one I still had in my mind. […] She was strong and beautiful. She had carried us safely. And now we were looking at her wreck. (31.3)
How have Ben's feelings about the Chrysalis changed since he saw her at the beginning of the trip, back in Florida?
Quote #8
Something changed. I couldn't tell what it was at first. It just seemed as if the color of the air had shifted somehow. (38.5)
Dylan's getting sicker—a fact that Ben's sixth sense has picked up on, even though he can't articulate what's wrong.