How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
At first Kristen was hurt, then angry, before finally retaliating with her own silence. The rest of us were stuck in the middle, filling the awkward pauses with chatter that always fell short. (3.145)
Kristen and Whitney may be super close in age, but that doesn't mean that they're two peas in a pod. In fact they have the most friction out of anyone in the family because they're so close and competitive.
Quote #2
But I had changed, too, even if only I could tell. I was different. As different as my family was that night it all began from what we appeared to be—the five of us, a happy family, sharing a meal in our glass house—to anyone in a car passing by on the road outside, looking in. (3.148)
The Greene family may look pretty flawless from the outside, but there's some trouble brewing from within those glass walls. People may think that they can see everything that's going on inside, but there are tensions that can't be seen just by peering in.
Quote #3
She didn't want to come, and we both knew it. Whitney might call, or show up. Or, even worse, not show up. Not for the first time, I wished both of us could just say what we meant. But that, like so much else, was impossible. (5.30)
Their family dynamics have been pretty screwed up since Whitney's eating disorder was discovered, but no one comes out and says that they're worried sick. Instead they all pretend that everything is going to be a-okay—a tactic that can't be good for anyone.
Quote #4
Whitney would be stomping around, ignoring my mother's cheerful, leading questions. [...] and then my mom would be upset, but pretend not to be. Even so, I'd worry over her until my dad got home, at which time we'd all sit down for dinner and pretend everything was fine. (5.266)
Talk about awkward family interactions. No wonder Annabel hardly comes out of her shell around her family; everything is too tense right now for her to rock the boat even more with the story of her rape.
Quote #5
My dad, though, felt it was time to trust Whitney with more responsibility. She'd never be independent if my mother kept hovering, he said, and they'd only be gone for two days. (9.115)
Their mom means well, but babying Whitney isn't going to help matters at all. Whitney needs to be able to stand on her own two feet if she's going to be a content and contributing member of their family.
Quote #6
Again I felt it: this tentative, careful peace between my sisters—not exactly flimsy, but not set in stone, either. My parents exchanged a look. (16.119)
Whitney and Kristen have been all about freezing each other out for the past few months, but now they're finally starting to talk to each other. Maybe this means that they'll go back to their friendly sisterly bickering in no time…
Quote #7
The house felt full and busy, my parents were more relaxed than they'd been in months, and my sisters were not only talking to each other but actually getting along. This sudden harmony was so unexpected it just made me seem that much more out of sorts. (17.2)
Whoa—things are a little strange in the Greene house. For the first time in forever, everyone's getting along and hanging out with each other. What gives?
Quote #8
Even my father was relaxed, clearly happy to have everyone together, under such better circumstances. It was a good thing, and yet I felt strangely disconnected. As if I were now a car on the street outside, slowing down the stare, with nothing in common at all but proximity, and barely that. (17.24)
Now that everyone is feeling closer to each other in the Greene family, Annabel can't help but feel like she's set herself apart—in a bad way. By not revealing her secrets, she's isolated herself from her family.
Quote #9
When that picture was taken, we were all gathered around my mother, sheltering her. But that was just one day, one shot. In the time since, we had arranged and rearranged ourselves so many times. (18.121)
Even in a family unit people can't have the exact same roles forever. Annabel finally gets that it's okay for her to ask for help too.
Quote #10
All my life, I realized, I'd only seen my parents one way, as if it was the only way they could be. One weak, one strong. One scared, one bold. I was beginning to understand, though, that there were no such things as absolutes, not in life or in people. (19.5)
Annabel has always thought of her parents as constants, but even their roles can change up. It was kind of silly of her to just assume that her mother would fall apart and need extra support if she heard about Annabel's problems, right?