How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Two blocks away, a guy had run a red light. He had killed Mom. Her clothes were still in the closet. (1.46)
Christine Byron's death haunts her family over the course of the novel.
Quote #2
A little tiny bracelet that said BYRON. It was the only thing Mom had kept from the last baby, the one who had come too early. (5.35)
Ben's mom is the second family member who died; the first was his baby brother, who was premature.
Quote #3
"Oh." Gerry was quiet for a moment. "How many light-years is it to heaven?" (8.23)
Gerry's so young that he has a hard time understanding death.
Quote #4
I read it through twice, then crushed the paper into a tight ball. "It's a suicide note," I said. (21.4)
After their father goes missing, Ben and Dylan argue about what happened. Ben thinks he killed himself. Dylan thinks it was an accident.
Quote #5
I held on to the companionway rail. "I think," I said, "that it's the end of the world." (22.43)
At first, Ben thinks that losing both of his parents is the end of the world. Over time, he realizes that he and his family can survive.
Quote #6
How I found Gerry, I don't know. How he survived, I don't ask. We poured water out of him, actually holding him upside down. Dylan breathed air back into him [...] (29.30)
Wow, you might think that Gerry would wear a life jacket at all times after he fell off the boat the first time. You'd think wrong, though.
Quote #7
Dylan, too, was startled at the mess, the trash, the dirtiness of it. It was such an undignified way for Chrysalis to slip away. (31.10)
The Chrysalis is dead. Long live The Chrysalis.
Quote #8
If I was lucky, I'd ride all the way in and hardly wet a toe getting out. If I was unlucky, the waves would turn the dinghy upside down and it would beat me to death. (31.31)
Ben ends up making it to shore, but just barely. We're starting to think the Byrons might be cursed.
Quote #9
"There's nothing. That I know of. That will help."
"So?"
"So my body either gets better by itself—or I die." (38.52-38.54)
Poor Ben. He's already dealt with the death of his mother and (what he thought was) the death of his father. The thought of losing Dylan is almost too much for him to bear.
Quote #10
If the biggest brother could get help, they would all be okay in the end. But if he was gone too long or if he was lost at sea, then both the little brothers—alone on the island—who could tell? (38.94)
Ben's facing a terrible dilemma. If he stays on the island, Dylan will almost surely die. If he leaves, Dylan and Gerry might both die.