How we cite our quotes: (Page number)
Quote #4
Imagine the awesome and awful sight of these three sisters pressed together, presiding over his crib, determining his future. In modern times, the sisters have largely disappeared from the collective consciousness, but the idea of Fate hasn't. Why do we still believe? Does it make tragedy more bearable to believe that we ourselves had no hand in it, that we couldn't have prevented it? It was always ever thus. (200-201)
In this mini-chapter, Nicola Yoon shares the origins of the concept of Fate itself: Ancient Greeks believed that the Three Sisters of Fate would literally visit a new baby in the middle of the night and determine his or her destiny. Creepy. No wonder they’ve faded from the collective consciousness; video-capable baby monitors probably put an end to their unexpected cribside drop-ins.
Quote #5
Maybe he wasn't meant to meet Natasha today. Maybe it was a random chance after all.
But.
Once they met, the rest of it, the love between them, was inevitable. (201)
Nicola Yoon tells us Daniel’s views on fate are nebulous, which is an apt term, since this description is making our brains feel foggy. If he and Natasha hadn’t met, does Daniel think he would have inevitably fallen in love with another potential soul mate? Would either of them feel like they were missing out on an important experience? It seems like he’s trying to have his philosophical cake and eat it too by believing their meeting was a random chance, but their eternal love was inevitable.
Quote #6
This is what I get for letting the Fates guide me—beat up, girlfriend-less, future-less. Why did I postpone my interview? Worse, why did I let Natasha walk away? Maybe she was right. I'm just looking for someone to save me. I'm looking for someone to take me off the track my life is on, because I don't know how to do it myself. I'm looking to get overwhelmed by love and meant-to-be and destiny so that the decisions about my future will be out of my hands. It won't be me defying my parents. It will be Fate. (235)
Natasha knows this aspect of Daniel’s personality better than he knows it himself, which is pretty impressive since they’ve only known each other a few hours. Now that he recognizes he’s looking for a way out of his tough decisions, he can’t keep waiting for Fate to rescue him. Time to grow up and admit he doesn’t want to be a doctor.