How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"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)
Conor's grandma can't say "dying" or "cancer" to him either, but at least she attempts to bring him to his senses instead of lying to him. In a family that's all about denial, that one clap has got to count for something.
Quote #5
His mum had been really poorly when they'd gotten to the hospital. They'd had to wait for his grandma to help her out of the bathroom, and then she was so tired all she was really able to say was "Hi, sweetheart," to Conor and "Hello, Liam," to his father before falling back to sleep. (13.6)
Just as Conor goes off into his own world with the monster, his mom goes off into hers with painkillers. No telling what she's seeing in there—she may have monsters of her own.
Quote #6
The sky darkened, and Conor could hear the coughing of the daughters within the parsonage, could also hear the loud praying of the parson and the tears of the parson's wife. (15.35)
Praying loudly could be a sign of begging God extra hard, or of wanting the rest of the world to feel and share your grief.