Find quotes from this novel, with commentary from Shmoop. Pick a theme below to begin.
Competition Quotes
I didn't want to be royalty. And I didn't want to be a One. I didn't even want to try. (1.2)
Family Quotes
She couldn't stand when I was stubborn. But I got that from her, so she shouldn't have been surprised. (1.8)
Society and Class Quotes
Our caste was just three away from the bottom. We were artists. And artists and classical musicians were only three steps up from dirt. Literally. (1.17)
Love Quotes
That was all it took. His lips were on mine, and I couldn't think about anything anymore. There was no Selection, no miserable family, no Illéa itself. (2.4)
Women and Femininity Quotes
This was the way they did it with sons. Princesses born into the royal family were sold off into marriage in an attempt to solidify our young relations with other countries. (1.41)
Power Quotes
I think the Selection was meant to draw us together and remind everyone that Illéa itself was born out of next to nothing. (1.41)
Poverty Quotes
It wasn't that our situation was so precarious. […] We weren't destitute. But I guess we weren't that far off either. (1.16)
Freedom and Confinement Quotes
The whole thing made me feel like my family didn't think I had any right to want something of my own. It bothered me. (3.49)