How we cite our quotes: (Story.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
But she wasn't alive. She had gone into the unknowable last summer. Besides the swan's wing, they'd buried her with other things she'd need: her pockets full of almonds to eat, a compass for finding her path, and coins for bribes along the way—silver coins, minted in one of the sheds and inscribed with runes. And of course, the dainty stiletto blade she'd always carried in her pocket—that went into her coffin too. (1.1.42)
Death isn't the end of the road for Kizzy's family. When her grandmother dies, she doesn't even leave Kizzy the cool knife that she always wanted. After all, she'll need it on her journey… just like she'll need all that other stuff they buried her with.
Quote #2
"A girl from the next village had died already. Wasted away. I saw her near the end. Her eyes were huge in her face and all the juice looked wrung out of her. […] Mairenni started to look like that poor girl and I knew she'd die too. She was my sister even if she was a fool. I had to do something." (1.1.52)
Goblins are a terrifying bunch, but Kizzy's grandmother didn't let her fear get in the way of saving Mairenni's life. If she hadn't intervened, Mairenni wouldn't have survived under the goblins' spell.
Quote #3
"I was a freshman. I think she was a junior, but I barely saw her because she got taken out of school. She was sick. She…" Kizzy's voice trailed off. She had almost said, She starved herself to death. But seeing this dead brown grave, other words came to her mind. She wasted away. (1.3.51)
There is something peculiar about the death of Kizzy's classmate that makes her feel uncomfortable. It sounds remarkably like what happens to girls in the stories her family tells about what happens to girls who fall for goblins. Huh.