Quote 21
It was love, and it hit me so hard I leaned against the screen door that still stood between us, just to stay vertical. I wanted to touch him like he was a bunny, a kitten, something so special and soft your fingertips can't leave it alone. The universe was good because he was in it. (6.17)
When Cadence sees how beautiful the Gat Universe is, the Sinclair Universe starts to look ugly in comparison. Sometimes seeing the good casts a bright light on the bad.
Quote 22
Maybe he loved Raquel. Those photos on his phone. That dried beach rose in an envelope. (8.29)
Realizing that Gat's roses are for another girl makes Cadence start to doubt herself. She's no less beautiful and awesome than she was before she saw the pictures, but her blonde Sinclair perfection suddenly seems inferior to Raquel's New York City sophistication.
Quote 23
I felt the love rush from me to Gat and from Gat to me.
We were warm and shivering,
and young and ancient,
and alive.
I was thinking, It's true. We already love each other.
We already do. (9.21-26)
What is it about falling in love with someone that makes you feel like you've known each other forever? To Cadence, falling in love feels less like discovery than recognition.
Quote 24
The bottom line is, Gat bailed when I got hurt.
The bottom line is, it was only a summer fling.
The bottom line is, he might have loved Raquel.
We lived too far apart, anyway. (12.23-26)
If by "bailed when I got hurt" you mean died, then yes, yes he did. In her own pain, Cadence is unable to realize that Gat's pain was way worse. You know, because it was terminal.
Quote 25
I don't know what is between us. I really don't. He is such an ass. (26.28)
Raise your hand if you've ever felt this way. We see you there, raising your hand. (We're raising ours, too.)
Quote 26
I am simply happy, here with Gat's body beneath my hands. The sound of the waves and his breath in my ear. Glad that he wants to be near me. (32.19)
This is the kind of scene that makes a person, a place, and a sound run together and become inextricable. This is why you'll always feel a twinge in your heart when you hear that song that was playing the first time you fell in love, or why the end of summer will always be bittersweet. (Yes, even when you're old.)
Quote 27
I often think of putting my arms around him or running my fingers along his lips. When I let my thoughts go there…the sharp pain of unrequited love invites the migraine in. (46.12)
Even if you don't have a brain injury, unrequited love can feel physically painful. There's actual science behind it.
Quote 28
Granddad and Tipper loved the girls so, they couldn't say whom they loved best. First Carrie, then Penny, then Bess, then Carrie again. (3.3)
We're going to go out on a limb and say that most siblings feel their parents play favorites occasionally. But to leave your kids wondering which one of them will be the favorite that day is seriously messed up.
Quote 29
As he grew old, he began to wonder which should inherit the kingdom, since none had married and he had no heir. The king decided to ask his daughters to demonstrate their love for him. (16.13)
Harris's daughters aren't trying to demonstrate their love for him; they're complaining about who deserves what, and trying to get their kids in on the fight. Harris, of course, sees through it.
Quote 30
Antiques and Oriental rugs tell people that my mother may be a dog breeder who dropped out of Bryn Mawr, but she's got power—because she's got money. (17.9)
Except that Harris is really the one with the money, so he's really the one with the power.
Quote 31
We all knew Aunt Bess wanted the Boston house. All the aunts wanted the Boston house. It was a four-million-dollar house, and they grew up in it. But Bess was the only one who lived nearby, and the only one with enough kids to fill the bedrooms. (37.26)
Here's a thought: Sell the house, split the money, keep the island. How many houses does one person really need, anyway?
Quote 32
When we got to Beechwood in late June, Bess had already inventoried Gran's Boston possessions and now began with those in Clairmont. The aunts had copies on their tablets and pulled them up regularly. (60.9)
How not to enjoy your summer vacation: Keep checking your iPad to see if your sisters are lying to you about statues and tablecloths. Don't they know technology is for selfies?
Quote 33
He was making a threat. (61.33-34)
The Sinclair Center for Socialization and Snacks might be a threat, but it's pretty funny. The featured snacks could be fudge, lobster, and wine.
Quote 34
But I was meant to help Mummy keep the house by telling my grandfather that he was the big man, that he was the cause of all our happiness, and by reminding him that I was the future of the family. (62.12)
Sure Penny has fancy rugs and fancy dogs, but without Harris's money, she'd be destitute. Having big money and losing it is, in some ways, worse than never having had money at all—she has no real life outside being rich, nothing that's truly her own.
Quote 35
Then he said Bess was a grasping wench and he had no intention of giving her my house. But later, Mirren told me he'd promised Windemere to Bess. (63.21)
Harris built houses specifically for each daughter, but in his old age, he starts unofficially reallocating the property. It's his favorite sport. Who needs outdoor exercise?
Quote 36
Granny Tipper's mouth made a straight line. Then she showed all her teeth and went forward.
"You must be Ed. What a lovely surprise." (4.22-23)
Tipper is just as racist as Harris, but she's more willing to put on appearances. After all, appearances are what the Sinclairs do best.
Quote 37
Skin deep brown, hair black and waving. Body wired with energy. Gat seemed spring-loaded […] Ambition and strong coffee. I could have looked at him forever. (4.33)
Cadence can see Gat's intelligence, ambition, and curiosity as soon as she meets him. He's beautiful, of course, but it's his brain that intrigues her.
Quote 38
He was a stranger in our family, even after all those years. (11.19)
How could you be anything but a stranger around the Sinclairs? After all, these are people who have lived on a private island for years and don't even know the names of the people they've hired as help.
Quote 39
If you want to live where people are not afraid of mice, you must give up living in palaces. (40.8)
This is a line from one of Cadence's fairytales, and it's unfortunately true of Gat: For as long as he tries to live on Beechwood, he'll always be an outsider. Harris will always be threatened by his difference.
Quote 40
What if we could stop being
different colors, different backgrounds, and just be in love
What if we could force everyone to change? (71.33-35)
You can't change someone's thoughts and beliefs by force, and trying to do so almost always has disastrous consequences. (See 1984.) Cadence's heart is in the right place, but her actions cost her the people she loves the most.