How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
But I missed the Cream Ofs and the potato chips, the same way I missed everything about my old life. (2.6)
We're not sure who would miss cream-of-something soup in every single meal, but Mclean's still got a hankering for the stuff, mostly because it reminds her of home and when her family was still complete.
Quote #2
"Wait," he said, moving over to the next cabinet and opening it. Empty. "Is this… What's going on here? Are you, like, survivalists or something?" (8.245)
How embarrassing. Dave's caught Mclean and her dad in the act of being weird lone wolves who travel from place to place without accumulating much stuff… or food.
Quote #3
"Not that many, I said. He did not look convinced, so I added, "I've been living with Dad for almost two years… and I guess this is the fourth place. Or something." (8.258)
How can you possibly feel at home in any place if you're constantly picking up all your belongings and moving again? It's no wonder that Mclean and her dad can't form lasting relationships; they're practically nomads.
Quote #4
It was a plastic container of thyme, already opened, but more than half full. JUST IN CASE YOU DECIDE TO STICK AROUND, the note said in messy, slanted writing. WE HAD THREE OF THESE. (8.332)
What a sneaky way to convey your feelings to the girl you have a crush on, right? Dave's obviously trying to find a way to tell Mclean that he thinks she should stick around and, you know, maybe even go on a date with him.
Quote #5
"Hey Mclean," Dave called out through the screen door. I looked over to see him surrounded by white: on the ground at his feet, blown onto the wall behind him, and flakes still falling. "You ready to go?"
I looked back at my dad's door, now all quiet behind it. No, I thought. I'm not. (9.274-275)
Mclean's used to picking up and moving away, but she's not quite ready to leave Lakeview, despite the fact that she prides herself in not getting attached to a place. Nope—to her surprise, she'd like to stay here for as long as she can, if she can help it.
Quote #6
From this distance, in the dimness, the model looked surreal, made up of parts filled with buildings, bordered by long stretches of empty space. It reminded me of the way cities and towns look when you are flying at night. You can't make out much. But the places where people have come together, and stayed, are collections of tiny lights, breaking up the darkness. (10.46)
Home is different for everyone, but it always involves other people. Mclean knows this to be true when she flies—the places where lights are gathered and clumped together are the places where people have made their homes and their communities.
Quote #7
It made me think of my mother, suddenly, and I wished in that moment she could see me here, in a real home, with a family, just like she wanted. Maybe it wasn't ours. But it was still good. (11.198)
After so much time spent living out of drafty, empty rental buildings, Mclean knows a real home when she sees it. And she's grateful that she has a friend like Riley who will share her home—and her family—with her.
Quote #8
It was amazing what a little noise and brightness could do to a house and a life, how much the smallest bit of each could change everything. After all these years of just passing through, I was beginning to finally feel at home. (12.42)
Mclean's always been pretty weird about building up clutter—especially when she's going to be moving a lot—but now that she's in her Lakeview home, she starts to settle in a little bit. After all, there's no harm in playing music and decorating, is there?
Quote #9
Home. As he said this word, nothing came to mind. Not an image, or a place. "So those are the options?" I said. "Mom's or Hawaii?" (13.45)
Mclean's dad mistakenly thinks that her mom's place—in her hometown—is still his daughter's true home. He's completely wrong, though; Lakeview is her home now.
Quote #10
Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, wherever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go. (16.93)
Ah, what a wise realization, young grasshopper. Mclean's finally got it all figured out—it doesn't matter where she is and what kind of a house she's living in. What really matters is that she has people who love her.