She is pretty. A gentle, fragile soul. Not the sort who would intentionally bring about the catastrophic unraveling that is only, this moment, beginning.
-- Narrator (Prelude)

Importance: In this quote, the narrator is speaking about a woman who the reader later discovers is Judy's adoptive mother. After the woman gave birth to a stillborn baby girl and was advised to never have children again, she and her husband sought out the doctor's advice to adopt a child from a woman in Memphis. In Chapter 23, the reader learns that this prelude was written by Grandma Judy. She is imagining the motivation behind her adoptive parents' decision to adopt her. This quote demonstrates an important theme of the novel, that well-intentioned people often are complicit in horrible acts.

Someday, you’ll read these and know all my secrets,' she told me once when I asked her why she was so meticulous about writing everything...
-- Avery (chapter 9)