"But if you really want to share secrets . . ."

"'It didn't hurt, did it? When I hit you?'

'Sure. Fractured skull. Concussion, the lot. Even Crow Face might notice it. That's if I ever get up there'" (Never Let Me Go, 14).

In A Separate Peace in your pants, I remember reading about the dangers of sarcasm. "It was only long after that I recognized sarcasm as the protest of people who are weak." Often, I'm a fan of sarcasm, but in this case, it reveals weakness in Kathy. Tommy is being super apologetic and sincere, and instead of returning that, she hides behind a shield of sarcasm. She also denies Tommy's sincerity at the end of chapter two -- "'Don't talk rubbish, Tommy'" (24) -- so their characters are at odds with the whole issue of sarcasm versus sincerity.

There's something that's been bothering me in these first two chapters, and I think it's a setting thing. Kathy keeps introducing a place as "where you go to have private conversations" and then moving to a different private setting every five pages. I'm nooot quite sure why we can't just stick to one or two; maybe it's really important, like a motif. Really important that I know the characters can have private conversations in the pavilion (6), in the dorm (15), in the Great Hall (22), by the lake (24), in a box, with a fox, in a plane, or on a train. Not those last four, but it still seems excessive to me.

Mmm, I can't read about the Great Hall without at least posting a picture of it: