pg 111
"...I wondered if I'd ever be so lucky to have a girlfriend I'd grow old with, a girlfriend who knew my secrets, my fears, my hopes--and loved me anyway. A purple-velvet-sofa kind of girlfriend."
pg 16
"Books became my life, or maybe I should say books became the way I escaped from my life. Every day I studied my homework lessons until I knew them inside and out. And, in a strange, upside down way, Momma's craziness helped me and rise to the top of my class. For every dish, saucer, or glass she threw against the wall, I'd add a book to my reading list. And every time she cried, I'd read an entire column of words in the dictionary. By the time I was eleven years old I'd read a whole lot of books and knew a ton of words.
When the girls in my class raced home after school to play board games or make themselves up with their mothers' cosmetics, I turned and walked in the opposite direction. Down shade-dappled sidewalks I'd go until I reached the Willoughby Public Library. I was happy sitting alone on the cool floor between the tall wooden shelves, but I'd be a liar if I said I didn't long for a living, breathing girlfriend to talk with. Laugh with. Just be with. Every day I ached to hear my footsteps walk in rhythm with those of another girl. When that ache got to be too much, I tried to pretend I didn't need anybody--including a mother."
pg 49
"Dear Cecelia,
I'm sorry for everything that has happened. But I know you'll be happy in Savannah.
Love Dad
Nineteen words. I counted them. That's all he had to say to me. Nineteen meaningless little words.
And that's when my father died to me--right there in the driveway. I was, as of that very moment, an orphan. Both my parents were dead, and if I was to be honest with myself, they'd been dead for a long time. It just took me awhile to figure it out."
pg 191
"Since moving to Savannah, I'd become more awake to nature--to the sounds, smells, and sights of the world around me. I was constantly surprised by the things that waited to be discovered beyond the pages of the books I'd always kept in front of my nose. Even the moon looked rounder and fatter than I'd ever remembered, and as it pushed higher into the sky, it lit the surface of Miz Hobbs's swimming pool into a shimmering skin of silver."
pg 241
"I burrowed deeper under the blanket, and as the rain beat against the window and thunder rolled over the house, I closed my eyes, let go, and fell into the depths of my sadness. And as I fell, I accepted the truth I had fought for so long--I missed my mother."
pg 238
"I think while your mother was alive you held tight to the hope that one day you'd wake up and she'd be healthy--behave like a real mother. Then you'd be able to live your life the way children are supposed to. But that day never came. Oh, honey, you've been very brave." She pressed her palm to my cheek and tilted her head. "But even the bravest among us can't hold that much hurt inside. I believe you're not only hurting but you're grieving too. Not only for the mother you had but for the mother and the childhood you didn't."
pg181
"When Miz Obee thought nobody was looking she'd sneak a marble off the board and drop it down the front of her dress. After a while, she had more marbles in her dress than we had on the board. Sapphire knew full well what Miz Obee was doing, but she always looked at her friend with tenderness in her eyes and pretended not to notice. As I watched this silent exchange between Sapphire and Miz Obee, it occurred to me that that's what friends should do: cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest."
