How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Ah, well, you'll probably never be as crazy as I am! […] Your father's not inclined to be crazy, and your mother never was either. Quite the opposite—I never knew anyone with a cooler head. My father, on the other hand, was at least as mad as me." (6.31)
Elinor characterizes her family as crazy, and not necessarily in a good way. That gene seems to have skipped Meggie's mom, though, and Meggie's dad seems sane in Elinor's eyes, too. Possibly this is because he hasn't yet revealed that he accidentally read his wife into a book nine years ago, which would sound pretty crazy if you weren't able to see proof of it for yourself. Of course, Meggie's mom and Mo are both book-crazy, so maybe that counts for something.
Quote #5
"Wasn't it kind of me to reunite you with your little girl last night? At first I meant for it to be a surprise for you today, but then I thought: Capricorn, you really owe that child something for bringing you what you've wanted so long, and of her own free will too." (17.41)
Capricorn's saying something that sounds very nice and family-oriented, but obviously he has an agenda, and now that he has Meggie, he knows Mo will do anything he asks in order to keep his daughter from being harmed. This is one of the downsides of having a family, since attachments make you easier to manipulate and coerce.
Quote #6
"Do you see those names?" he asked, pointing up at the chiseled letters listing people no longer alive. "There's a family behind every name—a mother or father, brothers and sisters, perhaps a wife. If one of them were to find out that letters can be brought to life, that someone who's only a name now could become flesh and blood again, don't you think he or she would do anything, anything at all, to make it happen?" (27.4)
Mo makes a good point: Family bonds are strong, and not even death can break them. This also makes us realize that even though nine years have passed since Meggie's mom disappeared, Mo hasn't given up hope of finding her again. There must be something in the way he can magically read people out of books that'll help him find out where she is and bring her back.