You know she is most likely dead,' Naomi said softly. She had found it was better just to say it.”
-- Naomi/Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: Naomi is having her first meeting with Madison's parents, and is talking to Kristina in this scene. Madison has been missing more than three years at this point, and Naomi's words demonstrate what most officials would expect after all this time.

In the dream it was night and she was again a naked child running across a dark field. She was ageless, shedding her name and false self the way she had shed her clothes.”
-- Narrator (chapter 2)

Importance: This is part of the recurring nightmare that Naomi refers to as “the big dream.” She is describing how she got away from her captors. Self-identity is one of the novel's themes, and the reader should note that Naomi considered her identity as a captive and victim to be her “false self.”

The girl...
-- Narrator (chapter 5)