Sick, strange, and we don't know why. Things bursting out of us, bits missing and pieces sloughing off, and then we harden and smooth over.”
-- Hetty (chapter 1)

Importance: This is the first explanation of what is happening to the girls, and it sets the tone for the grotesque situations most of them face.

At some point the order was alphabetical but we've all lost things, eyes and hands and last names. Now it's the oldest girls who go first.”
-- Hetty (chapter 2)

Importance: This is another case of Hetty setting the stage to explain all the things that have been lost since this plague, called the Tox, began. Later, Hetty also talks about the fact that there are so many girls missing from each class that lining up in that order is a painful reminder of the girls who died. In this scene, the girls are practicing their marksmanship, a skill that is now necessary because the...