How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Plants produce seedlings and those seedlings grow on their own. They don't need help."
"So what, faeries doesn't even have parents? I don't have faerie parents somewhere?"
Tamani bit his lip and looked at the ground. "Things are very different in the faerie realm. There's not much time to be a child, and not enough adult faeries to just sit around and watch kids play." (14.152-154)
This conversation between Tamani and Laurel reveals about as much as we get to know about how faerie families work. Which is to say, not much. There's not a lot of info here, nor is there apparently much to faerie families. Since faerie babies grow from seeds and develop into pretty functional little beings right away, why would they need parents or daycare or grandparents to spoil them?
Quote #8
Laurel's tight clutch on her temper came loose. "Did you guys even think this through? A million things could have gone wrong. What if my parents didn't want me? What if they found out I don't have a heart, or blood, or that I don't hardly have to breathe? Do you know what most people feed three-year-olds? Milk, cookies, hot dogs! I could have died!" (14.180)
Laurel raises some valid points here: Not all families bond and end up staying together. What if she'd ended up in the foster system? What if her parents had been less understanding of her quirks, and tried to feed her normal human food that would've turned out to be poisonous to her? Luckily she ended up with an awesomely tolerant family, but still—a lot could have gone wrong.
Quote #9
She heard her mother take a ragged breath and find her voice again. "I just spoke to Dr. Hansen," she said, her voice quivering. "You dad is showing signs of heart failure. They've given him less than a week." (18.16)
Laurel's dad's illness is definitely one of the most traumatic parts of the book for her. Finding out that she's a faerie is pretty rocky, but facing the possibility of a parent dying shakes her up way more. We can't say that we blame her; her dad is pretty awesome, and losing him would completely change the way their family works.