How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
It was 1947, and the war was over. Now there was music on every radio, and everybody wanted a new car. […]
But now our fathers and brothers and cousins were home, and our Victory Gardens had been turned back into lawns, because now we could buy not only what we needed but what we wanted, vegetables and coffee and creamy butter. (2.3-4)
Just because Evie was in New York City during the war doesn't mean that she didn't experience it in some way. They lived without a lot of things during the war, but now all the men are returning and things are going back to normal. At last.
Quote #2
It was the war. You couldn't ask him about it. You didn't want to remind him. What every wife and daughter could give was a happy home. That was our job. (4.11)
Joe's been through some terrible experiences during the war, but everyone is encouraged to sweep it under the rug. Even the newspapers say that they're not supposed to bring it up—they're just supposed to act like everything is normal and wonderful. Because, you know, that sounds healthy.
Quote #3
Those last months were the worst. It seemed like every day someone else's father or husband or son came home, and there was a party in someone's living room or backyard. When Margie's father came home, she walked around in a glow for weeks. I almost hated her. (9.10)
All Evie wants is for the war to be over and for Joe to come home. She thinks everything is going to be just as it was before—with her parents in love, and a real father figure to hug before dinner… but Joe's changed. The war has made him different.