Alyona would not be responsible for whatever nightmares Sophia did or did not have.
-- Narrator ("August")

Importance: The narrator says this of Alyona when the sisters are standing near the water at the city center. Though Alyona is immediately worried about Sophia reporting the tsunami story she told her to their mother, the line foreshadows the coming trauma the sisters will share. By the end of the novel, the reader understands Alyona has worked to guard her sister's heart and spirit throughout their captivity in Yegor's house, taking on Sophia's nightmares as her own.

She could have run faster, but love meant making compromises. With the people that mattered, Olya did not want to be free.
-- Narrator ("September")

Importance: The narrator says in reference to Olya's friendship with Diana. Longing to be with her friend again, she realizes she would sacrifice even her freedom to be in Diana's company. While this passage describes the young girls'...