Reconstructing Amelia Quotes
"Victor’s associates laughed obediently, probably at one of his jokes."
"Despite Kate’s crushing work hours, she knew her daughter. Really knew her."
"Keeping her baby had not been a decision Kate had made lightly, though, nor was it one she regretted."
"Kate felt as if she’d never had a child of her own."
"But the time we had together was awesome, and when my mom wasn’t there, I knew she wished she was."
"Success—first academic, later professional—had always made her feel that way: safe."
"Sylvia’s mom, Julia, seemed great to me, but Sylvia kind of hated her. I never really understood why."
"Sylvia would have gotten totally hurt if I’d pointed out that she looked kind of silly wearing it in that heat."
"Sylvia was like a crab that way: if you poked her wrong, she’d snap your finger right off."
"I wasn’t any expert, but that didn’t even sound constitutional."
"Ian Greene had his choice of girls, but he’d picked Sylvia, at least for one afternoon and one kiss."
"Because Sylvia couldn’t take what she dished out."
"But I kind of liked her thinking there was stuff about me she didn’t know."
"Why can’t I just be friends with somebody and have that be that? Maybe I don’t even want a boyfriend."
"Like Ben had said, there was nothing wrong with me."
"Thx, I wrote back to Ben. Idk what I’d do w/o u."
"Simple, Kate had wanted to say. I’m already dead."
"Prospect Park Long Meadow, 3:00 p.m. Be there. But only birds of a feather can flock together—come solo, or don’t come at all."
"I knew my daughter. I know she didn’t kill herself."
"Because blocking it out had been easier than fighting. It had been the only possible way to survive."
"You don’t want to be here, turn the fuck around and take off. We’ll see you around."
"What mattered now, though, was that Amelia had been happy in the photographs. Every single one."
"Avoiding food entirely was the only thing that seemed to help at all."
"Because it was Kate’s fault, of course, that Amelia was dead. That she had killed herself. It was a mother’s job to protect her child, even from herself. And Kate had failed, utterly and completely and awfully."
"Did something happen? No, nothing happened. I mean, except for me getting tired of waiting for you to tell me the truth."
"I never said it was me, Amelia. That's kind of the whole point."
"The ordinary things of a living, breathing girl. Now, the precious artifacts of a dead one."
"To be mad at your parents was the birthright of every teenager."
"Sometimes it's hard to tell how fast the current's moving until you're headed over a waterfall."
"She’s not as bad as she seems. You have to really know her. She’s my best friend. A lot of the time, it’s felt like she was my only friend."
"Not ones who know the real me. Not like Zadie knows me."
"Nobody reads them. My dad just collects them. Original ones, too."
"Virginia Woolf was kind of my hero. Not because she walked into a river with rocks in her pockets—though as far as ways to kill yourself went, that did have a certain style—but because she was crazy talented and had been who she’d wanted to be, despite the world telling her to be someone different."
"Most of the time I was proud of her for that. It was still lonely sometimes, though."
"We did other things on weekends, too, depending on my homework and field hockey schedule and how much work my mom had to do."
"I don’t think glad would be the word I’d use. I survived it, let’s put it that way."
"I’m sorry I didn’t make it home for dinner, Amelia. I was trying to get out the door, and then I got stuck on the phone and—"
"I know your little secret. Soon everybody else will, too."
"Because she was stupid, selfish, and I wish I’d never met her."
"Because it’s stupid. And it’s only been around, like, a couple years."
"But when you’re in love, that’s what it’s like—beyond good and evil."
"It’s like you’re in love with somebody or something."
"I demand you start at the beginning and tell me absolutely everything."
"I probably wouldn’t go around grabbing girls, pretty much anywhere."
"It was hard to look at her, like she—like I—might shatter if I kept my eyes on her for too long."
"You’re a little needy. Most of the time, it’s pretty cute."
"And when we were together, I felt connected to something bigger and better than myself."
"I wanted to keep Dylan’s fingers knitted through mine. I wanted never to let her go."
"I’ve got to go. My mom’s big episode is on tonight."
"You’re right, Amelia. I should never surprise you when you’re home alone."
"Maybe we could have a Friday date night on a Tuesday."
"In the middle of a workday? Be still my heart. If she keeps this up, she'll win Mother of the Year."
"My God. Sylvia hadn’t said anything that prepared her for something that awful. What Amelia must have felt when reading that Kate could only imagine. Shame, surely. Shame that wasn’t even rightfully hers."
"A piece of knowledge is never false or true—but only more or less biologically and evolutionary useful. All dogmatic creeds are approximations: these approximations form a humus from which better approximations grow,"
"Whatever, I don’t care what Ian does anymore."
"Being gay isn’t like a backdoor way to be abstinent because— Oh my God."
"I don’t mean maybe. I mean, I know. I know I’m gay."
"I like to be challenged as much as the next guy. You’re not the only intellectually curious person around here, you know."
"Bullied? That is an extremely serious allegation, Ms. Baron. I assume you have proof?"
"Amelia is dead. That seems like pretty good proof to me."
"You were a good mother, Kate. You loved Amelia, and she loved you back. You did the best you could."
"As parents we’d all like to think that, but in this particular situation—"
"She’s always been there for me, too, especially when I really needed someone, which sometimes feels like it’s all the time."
"I thought maybe Amelia was figuring some stuff out. I mean, she was gorgeous and a teenager and without a boy in sight? It raised some flags."
"But I guess you’re not contractually prohibited from pursuing a relationship with a student?"
"All they want to do is to put a label on you. Call you this or that. Then that’s all you are, forever."
"You could have told me about her, too. You loving her would never have made me love you any less."
"It was one thing to make myself look at them once. After that, they needed to disappear."
"But it’s a lot harder to forgive someone who’s not looking to apologize."
"The world is a darker place without her in it."
"Harassment is prohibited by the code of conduct, you know."
"Bullies thrive on shame and alienation. You need to reach out to at least one friend."
"I’m not going to kill myself, if that’s what you mean. I just wouldn’t—that’s not the kind of thing I’d ever do."
"Your mom loves you. She’s there to help you."
"Everything will get easier, I promise. It always does."
"I didn’t want to do what? Kate asked. Her heart was pounding."
"I think I can forget everything bad that happened. All I want is to be together again."
"I wasn’t going to let Amelia turn Dylan into some dyke just because that’s what she wanted."
"She was obsessed. ‘She’s the daughter of my long-lost friend, blah, blah, fucking, blah.’"
"You don’t care about me. All you care about is yourself."
"Holy shit, you do. You seriously think I killed Amelia. That I murdered somebody."
"She loves your money. But you, Frank? I’m not so sure."
"I don’t know what happened to Amelia on that roof, but I can prove I wasn’t up there."
"Her hair, it's Waardenburg syndrome, isn't it?"
"You were never a mistake, Amelia. You were the best thing that ever happened to me."
"If I’d been honest with Amelia about who her father was, or at least who I thought he was, maybe none of this would have happened."
"These clubs, we pay tens of thousands of dollars to send our children to Grace Hall, and this is what we get: Lord of the Flies?"
"She needed a family. Maybe if you’d been around more, she’d still be alive."
"It was time that someone held Jeremy accountable."
"You are funny and loyal and supportive and honest, and I wish I had a quarter of the passion that you have."