How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I'm at St. Vincent's, he told her. There are all these stretchers lined up, but nobody's on them. The doctors are standing around. He started to cry. The only times she'd heard him cry before were when he and her mom got married and when her brother was born, but both of those times had been happy crying. (3.71)
It's terrifying for Wendy to hear Josh crying on the phone because she's never seen him cry like this before. Things are falling apart, and she can't even count on her stepfather to keep it together.
Quote #2
It's a sound a person makes when they're grieving deeply, her teacher said. It might not be loud and dramatic, but it's like the saddest sound you could imagine, the sound a mother might make over the body of a dead child.
Or the other way around, it occurred to her now, as in the darkened room, in the dim glow of the blue plastic stars, she heard a sound she barely recognized, and because of the strange numb feeling, it took a moment to realize the sound came from her. (3.99-100)
Wendy doesn't know why she can't cry at first after the 9/11 attacks, but then she finds herself unconsciously making this awful wailing noise—her body is mourning without her even thinking about it.
Quote #3
All this time, Wendy still hadn't cried. She thought it might be a relief, but she couldn't do it. The dull Novocain sensation that had begun taking hold that Tuesday had overtaken her now. The whole world, everything around her, had turned flat and colorless. (3.225)
The world doesn't look the same after 9/11 because Wendy is in this awful nightmare where her mother has died—but they haven't found the body. It's hard for all of them to cope with this grief and uncertainty.