My promise was the price I had to pay for being born. That’s all you need to know.
-- Lena (chapter 2)

Importance: This quote hooks the reader with the suspenseful question at the core of the book. It also serves to characterize Lena as a tragic figure rather than a villain.

Maybe without your own dreams, you are left to live other people’s dreams?
-- Amisha (chapter 16)

Importance: Amisha says this quote to her class, but she might as well be referring to her own unfulfilled ambitions. This quote demonstrates her lack of creative freedom and subjugation to others.

In India, I started hearing the story of a woman lost in her own time. She struggled to find herself while remaining loyal to the expectations of those around her…Her story leaves me to wonder about the choices I make and why. Given the freedom to decide, have I ever made a decision, or have I...
-- Jaya (chapter 18)