Being forgotten, she thinks, is a bit like going mad. You begin to wonder what is real, if you are real… If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?
-- Narrator (Part 2: Chapter 2)

Importance: This quote captures the essence of the conflict of the novel: Addie's fight against being forgotten. Addie struggles to form a strong sense of identity, given the nature of her curse. She is obsessed with leaving a mark on the world, and is determined to do whatever it takes to accomplish that end.

Adeline is sixteen now, and everyone speaks of her as if she is a summer bloom, something to be plucked, and propped within a vase, intended only to flower and then to rot. Like Isabelle, who dreams of family instead of freedom, and seems content to briefly blossom and then whither.
-- Narrator (Chapter 5)

Importance: The older Addie gets, the more gender roles weigh on her. Addie’s parents believe...