The Usual Rules Identity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

I wish you wouldn't choose that picture to have up, Wendy had told her mother.

I don't need a picture to tell me how pretty you are, her mother said. What I like about this one is how strong you look, how determined you were that day. I look at this and I know you're going to be a survivor. (3.87-88)

Janet likes to have one picture of Wendy on display, and Wendy hates it because she doesn't look very pretty in it. But according to Janet, what defines Wendy isn't how pretty she is—it's how strong she is.

Quote #5

Who knew what a girl was supposed to look like who had a mother for thirteen years of her life and then all of a sudden one day she didn't. Now that she was that girl, she knew the answer. She looked just like anybody else. Same as the people looked normal on the flyers that had mostly fallen down by now. (7.7)

Wendy feels completely different on the inside after Janet dies, but on the outside she looks normal. It's hard for her to accept that she still appears to be a normal teenage girl to strangers instead of someone who is dealing with the biggest tragedy of her life.

Quote #6

What about school? I'd have to start in at a whole new place in the middle of the term. I wouldn't know anyone.

You could create a whole new identity, Amelia said. You might even be popular. (12.5-6)

Wendy is a little frightened by the idea of starting over at a whole new school, but Amelia convinces her it's an opportunity. By going to a new place, Wendy can be whoever she wants to be—no one will question her new identity.