With the same reckless spirit with which she'd hung up on her mother, she dialed another number she was shocked to find she remembered.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: The novel opens with Liselle and Verity's tense phone conversation. The mother and daughter discuss the probability of Winn's supposed FBI indictment. Despite Liselle's desperate pleas for advice or counsel from her mother, Verity is no help. She impulsively hangs up on Verity, and just as impulsively calls Selena. This line is significant in that it introduces Selena's character, while also establishing the subtextual narrative tensions. The syntax and the diction of the line also plant clues to Liselle's longtime attachment to her ex-lover. The moment contributes to the author's thematic explorations regarding love, longing, and stability.

She had escaped that house and a life like her mother's, that is, until she was on the phone with her mother, who said, 'Jail.
-- Narrator (chapter 4)

Importance: Shortly after her...