One day when I was fourteen, I told Charlie that I hated Mother. โDonโt hate her, Jo,โ he told me. โFeel sorry for her. Sheโs not near as smart as you. She wasnโt born with your compass, so she wanders around, bumping into all sorts of walls. Thatโs sad.โ I understood what he meant, and it made me see Mother differently. But wasnโt there some sort of rule that said parents had to be smarter than their kids? It didnโt seem fair.
Ruta SepetysMan, youโre a regular Bonnie Parker.โ โA dame that knows the ropes isnโt likely to get tied up.โ Jesse found that hysterical. โDid Willie say that?โ โNope, Mae West. Now, how do I get on this thing in a skirt?
Ruta SepetysSometimes kindness can be delivered in a clumsy way. But it's far more sincere in its clumsiness than those distinguished men you read about in books. Your father was very clumsy.
Ruta SepetysMy husband, Andrius, says that evil will rule until good men or women choose to act. I believe him. This testimony was written to create an absolute record, to speak in a world where our voices have been extinguished. These writing may shock or horrify you, but that is not my intention. It is my greatest hope that the pages in this jar stir your deepest well of human compassion. I hope they prompt you to do something, to tell somone. Only then can we ensure that this kind of evil is never allowed to repeat itself.
Ruta Sepetys