Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
The first sentence from each chapter of Furthermore, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)
* Book received from the publisher for review.
“The sun was raining again.”
“Alice never did get to tell Mother her story.”
“The pigs weren’t so bad.”
“Alice’s evening had left her in a foul temper.”
“Mother was waiting in the yard when Alice got back.”
“No one had come to find her.”
“Alice found a nice patch of grass and sat down in it, spreading her skirts around her.”
“Oh.”
“Alice wandered toward town in a daze.”
“The center of town was always a bit of a shock for Alice no matter how many times she’d wandered through, and I can’t say I blame the girl.”
“Mother was making tea when Alice finally made it home—just before dark.”
“Alice looked up and found Mother standing in the doorway.”
“The morning arrived the way Alice imagined a whis-per would: in tendrils of gray and threads of gold, quietly, qui-etly.”
“I hadn’t wanted to mention this earlier, but Oliver Newbanks had been standing just to the left of our Alice for over fourteen minutes before he finally stepped for-ward and pulled on her braid.”
“Alice’s stomach was a bundle of sticks, each ner-vous tap of her toes snapping another one in half.”
“Mr. Lottingale stepped onto the stage.”
“Only three others had gone before her, and al-ready Alice knew she had made a great mistake.”
“Alice could not make herself sit with Mother.”
“By the time Oliver found her, Alice was nearly at the edge of Ferenwood, right on the border of Fennelskein, hiding under a penny bush.”
“Alice’s body was goose bumps from hair to heel.”
“Alice peered into the open doorway and saw nothing at all.”
“Alice fell very far.”
“Alice, no!”
“Oliver had gone white.”
“They walked for days.”
“Alice thought maybe she should scream—it seemed like the right thing to do—but it didn’t feel honest.”
“Alice stared at Oliver in stunned silence, just until the clouds shook and the moons flickered and the stars swayed in the sky.”
“Slumber was quite tediously dark.”
“Run!”
“Two thumps later, in Still they sat.”
“Alice sat there a moment longer, waiting for Oliver to tell her he was joking, when he tugged on her braid and said, “Narrow-mindedness, Alice, will do us no good.”
“Finally.”
“Ten minutes later, Alice was grumpy.”
“Oliver Newbanks was equal parts terror and anguish.”
“Alice had only managed to take one step forward before the fox found her again.”
“Alice was very likely screaming, though if you ask her about this today, she denies it, and I don’t know why.”
“She wasn’t bleeding, and this was the first thing Alice noticed.”
“When Alice opened her eyes again, she felt the blazing heat of a familiar sun beating down her back.”
“It’s a great testament to the tender heart of our dear Alice that she did not agonize over this decision.”
“Alice and Oliver had been wandering a long while before the floral hedges finally opened up to an expansive clearing.”
“until they ran into a wall.”
“Paramint never wanted them to leave.”
“Oliver didn’t appear to either.”
“Alice and Oliver desperately needed a bath.”
“Oliver was waiting for her back at the eggshell house.”
“Finally, Oliver cleared his throat.”
“Is there anything you’d like to taste?”
“Alice had never realized what a pleasure it could be to simply wake up in the morning.”
“Alice flew back into the room as fast as she could, heart beating hard, hoping she could get to Oliver and out the door before Paramint ever came back.”
“She and Oliver clung to each other as they fell, and in her mind Alice was already apologizing to him for be-ing the reason he died.”
“Alice jumped straight up and back and hit her head against Oliver’s chest.”
“Oliver couldn’t shake off his shock.”
“Oliver met Alice’s eyes in a sudden panic, and she knew there was no time to deliberate.”
“I don’t know how much time elapsed between when she fell and when she woke—Oliver says it was at least several minutes—but when Alice finally blinked open her eyes, they’d already filled to the brim with tears.”
“Dear reader: I do hope you enjoy a happy ending.”
“Alice and Father stood together quietly just out-side their little home, each lost in their own thoughts.”
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