How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He wasn't going to let them win, that's what I think now. He wasn't going to stop hoping. If I killed him, at least he would die with a sliver of his humanity intact. (4.38)
To give up hope is to let the aliens win. That's one of the reasons that Cassie doesn't let herself do it.
Quote #2
The mind-blowing numbers didn't faze him. The fact that we'd gone from seven billion strong to a couple hundred thousand in four months didn't shake his confidence that our race would survive. (5.13)
Cassie's dad was an optimist. He was sure the human race would endure. Cassie has his persistence, but she isn't quite so sure.
Quote #3
The 1st Wave knocked us back to the eighteenth century. The next two slammed us into the Neolithic. We were hunter-gatherers again. Nomads. Bottom of the pyramid. But we weren't ready to give up hope. Not yet. (10.26-10.28)
What do you think it would take for Cassie to actually give up? Serious question.
Quote #4
I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. … I am the one not running, not staying, but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield. (24.26-24.28)
This is pretty brave stuff, actually. At the beginning of the book, Cassie truly believes it's possible that she's the last person on earth. She's not going to go down without trying to defend it.
Quote #5
"Private Flintstone, you're fired. Private Zombie is now squad leader. Private Zombie is ignorant and ugly, but he is not soft." (43.35)
When Zombie pushed back against Reznik, he thought he might get himself killed. Instead, he gets promoted. Sometimes persistence pays.
Quote #6
"I'm going to get my little brother, and there's only one way I can do it. […] Alone." (73.17 & 73.19)
Don't underestimate Cassie Sullivan, y'all. Her plan may sound crazy, but she's about to get the job done.
Quote #7
There's a thousand ways this could go wrong and only one way for it to go right. Don't think a play ahead, or two or three. Think about this play, this step. Get it right one step at a time, and you'll score. (78.10)
Zombie knows there's little chance that his rescue mission to save Sammy will succeed. He does it anyway—and eventually, he makes it.