You are the strong one now."
-- Sarah (chapter 1 paragraph 4)

Importance: Sarah says this to Grace after she cuts off her hair so that she will look like a boy. This signifies the start of Grace's journey, and the moment at which she must begin learning how to survive in the toughest circumstances. It is the catalyst of the novel, and forces Grace to become a woman at the same time she is being made to look like a boy.

She is becoming reckless, all right. There are times when she looks at her behavior and asks who she is or what she is becoming. The best part of you, she thinks, the part you have known all your life, has gone missing."
-- Grace, as narrator (chapter 2 paragraph 1)

Importance: This is when Grace begins to learn how to survive on the road; she begins stealing, and is able to focus solely on her survival. She is becoming a harder, tougher person...