Quote 1
"She's got medicine for her pain --" Conor started, but his grandmother clapped her hands together, just the once, but loud, loud enough to stop him. (11.8)
Grandma may not be able to say the words, "she's dying," and she may not feel it's her place, since Conor's parents seem to want to lie to him. But she has to get through to him somehow; to let him know he's refusing to live in reality.
Quote 2
"I've known forever she wasn't going to make it, almost from the beginning. She said she was getting better because that's what I wanted to hear. And I believed her. Except I didn't." (30.6)
It takes Conor so long to say this that we almost think he never will. When he finally does, we're cheering for him and crying for him at the same time—it's the same kind of duality of feelings the monster talks about in its stories.
Quote 3
"I thought it was a dream at first," Conor said […], "but then I kept finding leaves when I woke up and little trees growing out of the floor. I've been hiding them all so no one will find out." (13.26)
Do you believe these things were really happening, or was it all in Conor's imagination all along? Was there ever really a monster? And how can we know for sure? Okay, we'll cool it with the questions. We just really want to know!