Chapter 1
He'd told no one about the nightmare. Not his mum, obviously, but no one else either, not his dad in their fortnightly (or so) phone call, definitely not his grandma, and no one at school. (1.6)
Chapter 2
Conor had to sleep on the settee every time his grandmother came to stay. But that wasn't it. He didn't like the way she talked to him, like he was an employee under evaluation. An evaluation he wa...
Chapter 3
When Conor started having that nightmare, that's when Harry noticed him, like a secret mark had been placed on him that only Harry could see. (3.8)
Chapter 4
[…] there was his house, small but detached. It had been the one thing his mum had insisted on in the divorce […] after his dad had left for America with Stephanie, the new wife. That had been...
Chapter 5
But what is a dream, Conor O'Malley? The monster said, bending down so its face was close to Conor's. Who is to say that it is not everything else that is a dream? (5.21)
Chapter 6
Conor's grandma wore tailored pantsuits, dyed her hair to keep out the gray, and said things that made no sense at all, like "Sixty is the new fifty" or "Classic cars need the most expensive polish...
Chapter 7
It was three full days after the treatment, about the time she usually started feeling better, except she was still throwing up, still exhausted, for far longer than she should have been. (7.2)
Chapter 8
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)
Chapter 9
You think I tell you stories to teach you lessons? the monster said. You think I have come walking out of time and earth itself to teach you a lesson in niceness? (9.28)
Chapter 10
"My mum said we need to make allowances for you," Lily finally said. "Because of what you're going through." (10.14)
Chapter 11
"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)
Chapter 12
He would come here and pick up Conor, they'd go and see his mum, and then they'd spend some "father-son" time together. Conor was almost certain this was code for another round of We Need to Have a...
Chapter 13
"I thought it was a dream at first," Conor said […], "but then I kept finding leaves when I woke up and little trees growing out of the floor. I've been hiding them all so no one will find out."...
Chapter 15
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)
Chapter 17
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)
Chapter 18
"Your mum's taken a turn, Con," his father said. Conor looked up quickly. "Your grandma's gone to the hospital now to talk to the doctors." (18.18)
Chapter 19
"A couple of different things they've tried haven't worked like they wanted them to. And they've not worked a lot sooner than they were hoping they wouldn't. If that makes any sense." (19.15)
Chapter 20
"Son," his father said, leaning forward. "Stories don't always have happy endings." (20.42)
Chapter 21
He was inside the nightmare. (21.26-27)
Chapter 23
"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." (...
Chapter 24
Conor had felt what the monster was doing to Harry, felt it in his own hands. When the monster gripped Harry's shirt, Conor felt the material against his own palms. When the monster struck a blow,...
Chapter 25
I see you, read the fourth, with the I underlined about a hundred times. (25.24)
Chapter 26
His mum swallowed. "Things have moved just too fast. It was a faint hope. And now there's this infection—" (26.30)
Chapter 27
"What's the use of you if you can't heal her?" Conor said, pounding away. "Just stupid stories and getting me into trouble and everyone looking at me like I've got a disease—" (27.27)
Chapter 28
The real monster […], the real nightmare monster, formed of cloud and ash and dark flames, but with real muscle, real strength, real red eyes that glared back at him and flashing teeth that would...
Chapter 29
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. (2...
Chapter 30
"I've known forever she wasn't going to make it, almost from the beginning. She said she was getting better because that's what I wanted to hear. And I believed her. Except I didn't." (30.6)