I want to hold onto the version of me that's just another carefree twenty something.
-- Narrator (Chapter 4)

Importance: The author utilizes this quotation at the outset of the novel to introduce her thematic inspection of identity. Lux vacillates between identifying with her grief and her role as Nico’s cool girlfriend. Instead of allowing herself to form a sense of self that amalgamates her different experiences, she bifurcates her identity. The author suggests the individual cannot live with conviction if they are manipulating their identity to please others.

You get so focused on making it through each day that 'interests' and 'ambitions' kind go go out the window.
-- Narrator (Chapter 5)

Importance: Throughout Reckless Girls, Hawkins thematically inspects survival. When Lux was caring for her sick mother, she was unable to explore her own ambitions and hobbies. Paying for medical bills, making rent, and comforting her mother precluded her from having typically adolescent experiences. Hawkins avers that...