How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Miri felt torn in half, like an old shirt made into rags. How could she bear to leave her family and walk into some lowlander unknown? (3.43)
Miri's grown up and spent her whole life on Mount Eskel. Even the prospect of leaving home to go to the princess academy is scary and unwelcome.
Quote #2
Miri suspected it was a fancy meal meant to mark a special occasion, but the strange spices made it feel foreign and unkind, a reminder that they had been taken away from home. (3.143)
You could serve filet mignon and champagne and the girls would still feel as homesick as ever. They've all been dragged from their families to this strange place where they live together almost as if they're orphans. It must be really jarring.
Quote #3
More and more often, the girls looked up from their books and toward the heartening sight of Mount Eskel's peak, shedding white for brown and green. Miri could not think of returning home without a plummeting sensation in her belly. (10.2)
Miri may be focused on becoming academy princess and getting a big house for her family, but she still can't resist the pull of Mount Eskel. After all, it might not look like much to lowlanders, but it's home.