How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Everyone—worst of all, my friends—has pretty much avoided me all summer. But now they won't be able to. And everyone else… Well, I figure if they don't already know my "news," as soon as they find out, I'm going to be the class freak. Or the class pity project. (3.5)
Going back to school is hard enough without grief piled on top. Corinna's not sure if it would be worse to be ostracized or pitied, but either way, it's no wonder her stomach hurts.
Quote #2
Walking down the familiar hallways, I feel strangely alone. Alone even though there are tons of kids everywhere. Alone even though some of them are my friends. (3.23)
Our internal worlds often take precedent over our external ones. The way you perceive what's going on around you depends on how you perceive what's going on inside you.
Quote #3
It feels like I'm on a separate planet from everyone else. The kids at school are on Planet Normal, the planet I used to belong to. Their lives are going on as if nothing had happened. And then there's me. I'm on Planet Doom and Gloom. I don't know if I'll ever get back to Planet Normal. (3.60)
What was that we said about being an alien? The good news is that once you get out of middle school, Planet Normal starts to seem less and less appealing. Planet Doom and Gloom has way better music.
Quote #4
They never ask me about my dad, if my dad is driving, or whatever. It's like there's this big wall between them and me. (5.3)
Moms aren't the only parents who can drive you to the mall and cook you dinner, yo. Granted, Corinna's dad lives on canned chili and indefinitely postpones clothes shopping, but we've got to give him credit for that just-toss-the-tampons-in-the-cart-at-the-grocery-store thing.
Quote #5
They should make earplugs for people who are grieving, so we don't have to hear the stupid things people say, but I'd look like a dork in them. (5.13)
We're kind of surprised Dr. Dre hasn't jumped into this market yet. Just sayin'.
Quote #6
It's times like this when I feel like he barely notices me, even though we're in the same house. It's not like I am totally invisible, but more like we're separated by fog and can barely see each other. (6.29)
Corinna doesn't just feel separate from people who aren't grieving; she feels separate from her dad, too. They might be mourning the same person, but they're mourning totally different relationships.
Quote #7
He stands there in his khakis and Orioles baseball hat, silent, tall, thin, kind of blowing around in the wind. This might sound paranoid, but I get the feeling that the other parents don't talk to him the way they used to. (10.67)
Corinna's dad is going through the motions of being a parent, showing up at her soccer games as always, but he's not really there. His anchor is gone, and now he's at the mercy of the wind.
Quote #8
Even though I'm sitting with my friends, I feel trapped. I'm torn between wanting to scream at everyone and everything, and wanting to run out of there and jump on my bike to freedom. (15.23)
Grief can obscure your ability to recognize your emotions. Anger? Sadness? A little of both? Corinna's not sure.
Quote #9
"Well, um, I think Juliette didn't want you to feel left out, so we were supposed to keep it hush-hush. I told her we should wait or maybe change the theme, but she didn't want to." (20.8)
If Corinna's friends had been honest with her about the mother-daughter tea party, it would have been awful, but at least they wouldn't have kept secrets and betrayed her trust. Finding out about it after the fact is worse.
Quote #10
Do they think that talking to you or being near you means they can "catch" having a parent die? Nothing like feeling that you're contagious when you already feel so alone. (36.4)
We're pretty sure nobody actually consciously thinks this, but superstition is a powerful thing. It's eighth grade—difference in general feels contagious.