How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Lily was the sensible one of the family. She always had been. She could write her name and count to fifty before she started school, and even tie her own shoelaces, something her mum said Lonnie hadn't learned till he was in Grade Three […] These days, she cooked dinner every second night, made out the shopping list for Saturday, and remembered when the car had to be serviced and bills paid. (2.1)
Lily never got to choose whether she wanted to be "sensible" or not—it was a label thrust upon her because she was an advanced child, while Lonnie was a late bloomer. In a way, this is kind of unfair to her; people have always put responsibility on her because they know she can handle it. We can't say for sure, but this more than likely played a role in creating her control-freaky personality.
Quote #2
Lily took up her pen and tried industriously to make notes. "Can a person always be a teenager?" she scribbled. "Or always middle-aged? (Like me?)" (6.9)
As the old phrase goes, you might say that Lily's an old soul. One thing's for sure, though: She's trapped in the rather unusual position of being an adult in a teenager's body. While she has serious responsibilities at home, she also has the urge to be insensible and impetuous like the other allegedly normal teens she knows.
Quote #3
Sitting with Tracy Gilman and the other girls at lunch and recess, Lily could take part in the conversations; she could sound like them, she knew the words: gross and glam and fave and juicy—yet inside, where it mattered, Lily felt a fraud. (6.12)
Ah, good old peer pressure. Ever feel like you have to dress/talk/act/eat/look a certain way because "everyone else is doing it" and being different is just too scary? That's kind of what Lily's dealing with. On the outside, she wants to look as average as possible to fit in with Tracy Gilman's crowd. On the inside, she knows she's just faking it 'til she makes it.