How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I loved to sail. But I also loved to come home, and this time we weren't coming home. (1.23)
After his mother's death, Ben is adrift. Literally. Like, in the middle of the ocean.
Quote #2
"I guess you guys saw that I listed the house for sale," he said. "I was going to tell you first. I didn't know the sign would go up so fast." (3.23)
Do you think the Byron family could have healed better if they had just stayed at home? Why or why not?
Quote #3
"I hate you and I hate this boat and I want to go home," Gerry said.
"You're there, Gerry," I said. "This is home now." (4.26-4.27)
By the way, Gerry, spoiler alert: your new home isn't waterproof.
Quote #4
By now, those people, whoever they were, had moved into our house. They might find an army man under the refrigerator or a baseball in the yard. They might open a drawer in Mom's bathroom and find a comb. They would throw it all away. (8.5)
There's nothing quite so unsettling as picturing a bunch of strangers in your house. The thought of someone throwing away his mother's stuff is almost too much for Ben to bear.
Quote #5
Dylan and Gerry had picked a spot on the edge of the beach just under the shade of the scrub tree. They had cleared away the big debris and stacked our stuff in neat piles. (30.28)
It's a lot easier to clean your "room" when it's a pile of bean cans and some sand.
Quote #6
We weren't hungry anymore. We weren't thirsty. We knew how to live on the island. It had taken a long time, but we had figured it out. (37.2)
Eventually, the deserted island becomes home to Ben, Dylan, and Gerry. They build a life there as best they can.
Quote #7
I nodded. Of course. I would remember it when I was dead. When we beached the dinghy, the sand felt like home. (39.30)
Over time, Ben really does begin to think of that island as home. If Dylan hadn't gotten sick, you have to wonder if he would have stayed there forever.
Quote #8
"And so I came," he said. "To bring you home." I laughed.
"Home?" I said. "Where's that?" (40.37-40.38)
In the last year, Ben has lived in a real house, on a boat, and on a deserted island. His confusion seems fair.