How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
She understood what Nana meant, that a harami was an unwanted thing; that she, Mariam, was an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance. (1.1.6)
Mariam's status as an illegitimate child leaves her without a true family. Nana holds a great deal of resentment towards Mariam, and Jalil refuses to acknowledge her as a real daughter.
Quote #2
She picked up ten pebbles and arranged them vertically, in three columns. […] She put four pebbles in the first column, for Khadija's children, three for Afsoon's, and three in the third column for Nagis's children. Then she added a fourth column. A solitary, eleventh pebble. (1.5.34)
Mariam spends her childhood on the outside looking in. Although she doesn't entirely understand what it means to be a harami, she knows it means that she's isolated from the people that should be her family.
Quote #3
Her time with Tariq's family always felt natural to Laila, effortless, uncomplicated by […] the personal spites and grudges that infected the air at her own home. (2.18.47)
Now tell us you can't relate to this. It's always nice to escape to a friend's calm home life from your family's craziness, but it's important to remember that no family is perfect.