How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
We heard her almost straightaway. In the other car, wedged into ours so deep that you couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. She told us her name was Tate and then she squeezed through the glass and the steel and climbed over her own dead—just to be with Webb and me. (Prologue.4)
It's not exactly the greatest beginning of a beautiful friendship, but Tate crawling through the smashed up cars to get to Hannah and Webb is the hand they got dealt. And so the story of the five began.
Quote #2
They argued about sports codes and song lyrics. Jude saw the rain-dirty valley, Webb saw Brigadoon. Yet despite all this, they connected […] Somehow the world of Webb and Fitz and Tate and Narnie became the focus of Jude's life. (2.85)
While Jude's the only one of the five with no connection to the accident, he nonetheless is captivated by the bond the other four share and finds his way into their world.
Quote #3
All of a sudden Hannah has all these "friends." Friends who have known her since she was seventeen. Friends who hand over letters. Friends who are sick. (8.152)
Because Taylor's only ever known Hannah the Loner, it's surprising for her to learn that Hannah has deep connections with others. At this point, though, she has no idea just how deep those friendships run.
Quote #4
"One day, if you need me to, I'll be Jem and you be Mrs. Dubose," Narnie promised sleepily.
"I'll hold you to that," Tate said softly, and they both slept. (12.120-121)
Want to make a good story great? Throw in a To Kill a Mockingbird allusion. In this case, the idea of Jem easing Mrs. Dubose's pain as she dies becomes a powerful metaphor for Tate and Hannah's friendship. The two administer each other's needs out of love in the worst times of their suffering.
Quote #5
How does Jonah Griggs get to be a ten? He sits on a train with me when we're fourteen and he weeps, tearing at his hair, bashing his head with the palm of his hand, self-hatred pouring out of him like blood from a gut wound in a war movie, and for the first time in my whole life I have a purpose. I am the holder of the grief and pain and guilt and passion of Jonah Griggs.
While Taylor and Jonah are mortal enemies at the start of the territory wars, they have a history of sharing in each other's pain. In particular, Taylor takes the grief of losing Jonah's father on herself and allows him to pour out his feelings. This mutual sharing of their pain becomes the foundation for their later friendship.
Quote #6
Ever since any of them could remember, Webb and Tate had been like that. Jude knew it was why he was drawn to them. They were like beacons for Narnie, who couldn't seem to operate without them and Fitz and Jude loved the three, unashamedly. (17.9)
The connection between Tate, Webb, and Narnie ultimately comes from the foundation of unspeakable sadness, loss, and tragedy they all experienced in the accident. While these three form the nucleus of the group, Fitz and Jude come to love them in spite of the burden they carry.
Quote #7
We have knock-out rounds throughout the week after dinner and it's during this time that I truly get to know my House. Their choices make me laugh so much at times that I have tears running down my face and other times they are so poignant that they make me love them so much without even trying. (21.23)
There's nothing like karaoke night to bring a bunch of teenagers together and knock Taylor out of her self-deprecating, reclusive shell. These kids may have gotten on her last nerve early in the book, but now she's able to get to know them and love them.
Quote #8
Griggs looks up at us. "What happens when she's not my memory anymore? What happens when she's not around to tell me about his belt leaving scars across my two-year-old brother's face or when he whacked her so hard that she lost her hearing for a week? Who'll be my memory?"
Santangelo doesn't miss a beat. "I will. Ring me."
"Same," Raffy says. (21.44-46)
Whoa. Several chapters ago, Jonah and Santangelo got thrown in jail for beating the poop out of each other, but now Santangelo is agreeing to play a key role in Jonah's recovery from his dad's abuse and death. So much for war games.
Quote #9
I fall in love with these kids over and over again and my heart aches for their tragedies and marvels at their friendship. And it's like we've been talking for five minutes instead of five hours. (24.169)
At the beginning of the book, the five are merely characters in Hannah's book. By the time Jude tells Taylor the true story of her parents and her relationship to them, though, they take on the three-dimensional quality of real people. Of course Taylor loves them even more now: They're not only real, they're her family and friends.
Quote #10
I watch them both and for the first time it occurs to me that I'm no longer flying solo and that I have no intention of pretending that I am. I have an aunt and I have a Griggs and this is what it's like to have connections with people. (26.8)
Welcome to the world of other people, Taylor. We're proud of you for making the journey out of isolation and anger and forming life-changing relationships.