How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
She hadn't tied her scarf around her head yet this morning, and her bare scalp looked too soft, too fragile in the morning light, like a baby's. It made Conor's stomach hurt to see it. (2.35)
There's something horrible about seeing your parents as children, whether physically or emotionally. It's a primal kind of sadness and fear.
Quote #2
By and by, the king's wife succumbed to grief, as did the mother of the young prince. The king was left with only the child for company, along with more sadness than one man should bear alone. (8.10)
And yet, so many people tend to isolate themselves when they feel grief. It's another kind of invisibility, except that you choose it instead of having it chosen for you.
Quote #3
"My mum said we need to make allowances for you," Lily finally said. "Because of what you're going through." (10.14)
Lily seriously needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. Someone needs to teach that girl about filters. Yeah, we know she means well, but every time she talks, we cringe on Conor's behalf.
Quote #4
"She's got medicine for her pain—" Conor started, but his grandmother clapped her hands together, just the once, but loud, loud enough to stop him. (11.8)
Conor's grandma can't say "dying" or "cancer" to him either, but at least she attempts to bring him to his senses instead of lying to him. In a family that's all about denial, that one clap has got to count for something.
Quote #5
His mum had been really poorly when they'd gotten to the hospital. They'd had to wait for his grandma to help her out of the bathroom, and then she was so tired all she was really able to say was "Hi, sweetheart," to Conor and "Hello, Liam," to his father before falling back to sleep. (13.6)
Just as Conor goes off into his own world with the monster, his mom goes off into hers with painkillers. No telling what she's seeing in there—she may have monsters of her own.
Quote #6
The sky darkened, and Conor could hear the coughing of the daughters within the parsonage, could also hear the loud praying of the parson and the tears of the parson's wife. (15.35)
Praying loudly could be a sign of begging God extra hard, or of wanting the rest of the world to feel and share your grief.
Quote #7
And then she groaned, deep in her chest, her mouth still closed.
It was a sound so painful, Conor could barely keep himself from putting his hands over his ears. (17.22-23)
Conor's mom's groans are far more painful to him than the yew tree monster's. After all, she's the one in the nightmare with the truly scary monster.
Quote #8
"Son," his father said, leaning forward. "Stories don't always have happy endings." (20.42)
This is the best Conor's dad can do at telling him the truth. It's just as vague and complicated a story as the ones the monster tells, and a lot less helpful. Which raises a question: does Conor's dad's presence relieve some of his suffering? Or does he just make things worse?
Quote #9
"Conor O'Malley," he said, his voice growing poisonous now. "Who everyone's sorry for because of his mum. Who swans around school acting like he's so different, like no one knows his suffering." (23.29)
It comes as a surprise when Harry says this, since Conor seems so determined not to act like he's suffering. He certainly doesn't want to be treated like he is. So why does Harry think he does?
Quote #10
The blackness was wrapping itself around Conor's eyes now, plugging his nose and overwhelming his mouth. He was gasping for breath and not getting it. It was suffocating him. It was killing him. (29.49)
Note that the monster's not the one actually killing Conor. Instead, it's the darkness, the sadness, the atmosphere itself.