One Two Three

“Plus idioglossia. It comes from the Greek -idio, meaning personal, yours alone in all the world; glossia meaning tongue. If you’re a doctor, ‘idioglossia’ means speech so unformed or distorted it’s unintelligible. I can’t articulate much more than a single, wide syllable, and even that you probably wouldn’t understand. But if you’re a linguist, idioglossia means private language, one developed and understood exclusively by a tiny number of very close speakers, the secret language of twins. It is raised, in our case, to the power of three.”

Here, Mirabel describes the way that her congenital abnormality has impacted her speech. Despite her difficulties with speech, she is perfectly intelligible to her sisters, and this speaks to the theme of resilience and self-determination. Mirabel might not speak like other people, but this does not limit her communication or her intellect. Indeed, she is a true genius, and with the aid of her voice software, she is even able to communicate with people outside of her immediate family.

“There’s a ban at Bourne Memorial High School on the word ‘normal’ and I get their point, but it’s not like kids don’t know how adults see them, here and everywhere.”

This quote highlights Frankel’s interest in critiquing the mainstream, ableist usage of the word “normal.” As she illustrates in this text, everyone is an individual in their own right, and such arbitrary classification systems are outdated and not particularly useful. In spite of that, individuals who do not conform to stereotypical understandings of “normal” are often stigmatized, and the school in Bourne is trying to create a culture in which that kind of discrimination is simply not tolerated.

“After what happened, some people died and some people left. The only people who did not die or did not leave were the ones who could not.”

This passage refers to Belsum Chemical’s poisoning of the town’s water supply, an action that was only possible because the town needed Belsum to provide jobs. Had they been a wealthier community, Belsum would not have sought them out, and they would not have allowed Belsum such a foothold in their community.

“I am very trustworthy. I know a lot of facts. I relate them responsibly and appropriately. I never lie. I am also not a day.”

Monday speaks these lines, and her incredibly literal understanding of the world ultimately proves to be an asset to her work as a librarian and to her sisters’ ongoing investigation into Belsum Chemical’s history in Bourne. Far from being limited by her individual quirks, she uses them to her advantage and stands as an invaluable member of the community.

“How it works at our school is students who need extra help with their bodies are Track C, no matter how well their brains work. As an example, Mirabel’s brain is smarter than anyone’s. And students who do not need extra help with their brains or their bodies are Track A, for example Mab, even though Mab’s brain is often annoyed, annoying, obsessed with vocabulary words, and deciding to touch me even though it knows I do not like to be touched. Our class is Track B which means the bodies in the students in my class mostly work all the way but our brains mostly do not.”

In this passage, Monday explains the way that Bourne Memorial High organizes its students into groups. It does not use labels such as “gifted” or “special education” because its focus is on the holistic identity of its students and on helping its students see beyond classifications like “normal” and “abnormal.” This dynamic speaks to the theme of Resilience in the Face of Adversity, for the students are encouraged to focus on their strengths rather than their deficits.

“Everyone needs air, water, food, shelter, and clothing all the time, Monday. Everyone needs care when they’re sick or hurt, love when they’re sad or scared, someone to tell them no when they’re being unsafe. Everything else people need sometimes, and it’s a lot, is special. All of us have special needs.”

In this passage, Pastor Jeff speaks to Monday about the true nature of ability. After hearing the term “special needs,” she is confused because such labels are not used in Bourne. Pastor Jeff encourages her to understand that everyone has individualized needs and that she should not think of herself as different or lacking in any way.

“In Bourne, there is no normal.”

This statement reflects one of Frankel’s key messages in the novel, as well as one of the author’s most abiding interests. Frankel wants her readers to understand that such classification systems are better suited to objects and that society largely misunderstands identity. In reality, there are many different kinds of people, and no one group is truly “normal.”

“Nora bakes because baking doesn’t involve water.”

This quote highlights the multilayered significance of baking as both a reminder of Belsum’s crimes and a motif of community spirit within the novel. In part, this motif illustrates the theme of Corporate Greed and Environmental Justice, as the water is unsuitable for baking because it has been poisoned by an unethical, greedy company. However, the act of baking also shows Nora’s desire to take care of her friends and neighbors.

“But then the smell stopped being outside and came inside because water smelled bad coming out of the tap, and it looked bad too—brown or oily or murky, like maybe there was something in it—and then you could taste it.”

In this passage, Mab tells the story of Belsum Chemical’s actions in Bourne. At the point when the water turned brown, Belsum still denied that it had poisoned the river. It was not until the brown became a bright green that the company was forced to admit that the water was no longer safe. Belsum lied whenever possible and only admitted the truth when it was absolutely necessary to do so. This speaks to the novel’s representation of corporate greed and dishonesty.

“That’s why they put the plant here, I say. We’re just a small nowhere town. No industry, no tourism, no money, no prospects. No one to object or really even notice if things go bad. Maybe they—you—weren’t sure it would kill us, but you weren’t sure it wouldn’t.”

This passage illustrates the predatory nature of Belsum Chemical and other large conglomerates. It chose to put its plant in Bourne because such an economically disadvantaged town would have little recourse to object to the presence of a potentially polluting industry; the townspeople simply needed the money that such an industry could provide. Belsum also knew that, if it were to create an environmental disaster, Bourne would lack the resources to fight back effectively.

“I like to research in books, but I also like to research online because you can set your screen to show yellow text on a black background or black text on a yellow background.”

This passage speaks to Monday’s characterization and shows her preference for the color yellow, a quality she worries might be a detriment but that Pastor Jeff reframes for her as a source of decisiveness and strength. It is her interest in the color yellow that ultimately allows her to help her sisters demolish the dam and prevent Belsum from reopening its plant in Bourne.

“They’re a giant corporation. Of course they don’t have your interests at heart.”

This passage speaks to the theme of Corporate Greed and Environmental Justice. Belsum has always valued profits over people, and it continues to prey on the town even after the initial ecological disaster that caused it to shutter its plant 16 years ago. When the company returns to Bourne, it has faked a series of tests in order to present false evidence that its reformulated product is now safe.

“‘My dad wants anyone who comes by the house to see him drinking water straight from the tap.’ And I remember that, from when we were there, how shocked Monday and I were. ‘But he’s faking it. It’s bottled.’”

This passage details the way that Nathan Templeton lies to the townspeople in Bourne about the safety of their water. He pretends to drink it in order to try to convince them that the water is potable. This is part of a large-scale effort to convince everyone to return to work at the plant and to drop their lawsuit against the Templeton family.

“My pile is a solar panel, four black mats, four wooden boards. I smile at him, hold my hands to my heart. It’s gratitude plus a Christmas morning sort of excitement.”

This passage speaks to the theme of community and belonging since Tom, the local handyman, has collected various piles of goods to be repurposed and distributed to the townspeople based on individual need. Such an altruistic endeavor demonstrates the way that the people in Bourne work together and become stronger as a collective than they would be as individuals.

“That I am seen and treated as normal by everyone else here is only because I am normal to everyone else here. That River sees me that way too is miraculous and magical.”

In this passage, Mirabel speaks of the town’s focus on equality and individual identity. In Bourne, there is no true “normal.” However, River is an outsider, and Mirabel is happy to be seen in a holistic way by someone who grew up in a world with more traditional classifications, standards, and ways of viewing identity.

“As a condition of employment, we had to take our names off of the lawsuit.”

This passage shows the ways in which Belsum continues to manipulate and use the townspeople, and it also lends credence to the recently proposed theory that Belsum has returned because the company hopes to find and hide evidence and find a way to thwart the lawsuit. If it offers people new employment and requires the new hires to step away from the lawsuit entirely, it will weaken Nora’s ongoing quest to find justice.

“‘I do not like typos,’ she says. ‘Because typos are lies, inaccuracies, and an abbreviation all at once, and they mean that your brain can be thinking one thing, but your fingers can rebel all on their own which shouldn’t be possible but is.’”

This passage speaks to the rigidity that influences Monday’s overall personality and illustrates her tendency to view facts in a starkly literal way. This characteristic is seen by some as a deficit, but it is actually tremendously beneficial to her and allows her to run the library with ease and help her family to fight Belsum Chemical.

“But there is something strange about this picture and it is this: There is an extra river in it.”

This quote outlines a significant moment of discovery in which Monday realizes that something is different about the river in this old photograph of the town. Her keen observation sets a chain of discoveries in motion and eventually leads to the realization that Belsum does not own the rights to the dam.

“Nora has her calendar on her phone, her computer, and longhand in a daily planner, and she still can’t keep it straight. But it lives in my head with just about everything else.”

This passage highlights the particulars of Maribel’s personality, for she is intellectually gifted and has far surpassed her fellow students in her studies. She also has a detailed memory and does not need the organization systems that others use. This speaks to the theme of resilience, as Maribel’s intelligence is her defining character trait, rather than her congenital abnormalities.

“So I started testing: increased liver size in rabbits. Birth defects in rats. Tumors and cancers in dogs. DNA damage.”

In this passage, Nathan Templeton admits that Belsum knew that its product was harmful and that he played a large role in the company itself, for he was the one who developed the chemical that poisoned Bourne. In spite of this admission, he is still unable to see himself as guilty and struggles to take responsibility for his company’s actions.

“‘They’re not worried we’ll find the damn paperwork.’ Mab’s face shows happy, surprised, and angry all at once which should not be possible, but is. ‘They’re worried we’ll find the dam paperwork.’”

This passage describes the moment in which the girls realize that Belsum Chemical does not have legal access to the dam and never did. They realize then that the way to stop Belsum is by attacking the dam, not by using ineffective legal avenues to object to the plant itself.

“We need to decide, we all need to decide if that’s a risk we are willing to take as a town in exchange for what Belsum is offering.”

This passage is emblematic of the ways in which Belsum systematically manipulates the townspeople of Bourne. Bourne is an under-resourced community that would benefit greatly from the jobs that Belsum is offering. Because they need the economic opportunity so badly, they are forced to choose between their jobs and their own safety.

“Dear Mama. It’s okay. We’re taking care of it.—One Two Three”

This is the girls’ moment of greatest agency. Realizing that they cannot beat Belsum in the courts, they take matters into their own hands, and by using Monday’s knowledge of backhoes, they demolish the dam that Belsum needs in order to make its toxic products.