How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"That is why you must leave Travis alone. I have watched the way you covet him. But he is not for you." […]
I don't know what to say or how to respond and so I nod, the pain inside me too intense. She is asking me to give up the only thing I have left. (8.26-27)
What else has Mary given up? Well, her dad, her mom, and her brother, for starters. Not to mention her trust in the Sisterhood. Oh yeah—and a chance for peace and happiness with Harry. At this point, all Mary's got going for her is a love for Travis and a dream of the ocean.
Quote #2
I press my face into his pillow, trying to smell him, trying to remember. It is a test to see if I can really give him up.
I know that I never will. Even to save him. I am too selfish. (8.44-45)
Sounds good, but ain't true in the end—sorry, Mary. That selfishness ends up inspiring Travis to sacrifice himself—because in the trees, Mary realizes that she will give up Travis. Sheesh, she'll give up Jed and Harry and Cass too, if it means she'll reach the ocean.
Quote #3
I shake my head in disbelief. "But you said that you loved Harry and yet you are willing to set him aside. Why?"
Once again she shrugs. "I'm doing what is best for him. And for the village. This is the way it has to be, Mary. This is the way it will be." (9.61-62)
Cass may not be a romantic, but she knows a thing or two about sacrifice for the greater good, and in her mind, keeping the village up and running is the greater good. Who cares about her puny heart when the safety of her whole world lies in the balance?