“Folks around Saitter don’t understand why parents would name their daughter Tiger. But Daddy says it’s because of love.”

Tiger’s name is shown to be important from the very beginning. This quote introduces the main character, suggests that love will play an important part in the story, and foreshadows Tiger’s ultimate decision to keep her birth name.

“I loved Saitter. I loved the longleaf pines that grew thick around us like a fort. I loved the smell of honeysuckle after a hard rain and the way a swim in Saitter Creek cooled my skin. But I didn’t know what was wrong about taking a trip away from God’s country now and then. Even God let his angels fly away sometimes.”

This quote references the motif of the natural world that plays such a large part in the story. Here, the author describes Saitter as protective. Holt compares it to a “fort” and references the ways in which it cares for its inhabitants.

“Grandpa Parker knew how to breathe the rhythm of the earth.”

This quote touches on the importance of the natural world; Lonnie learned from his father how to stay connected to the earth and read its signs. The quote also underscores that Lonnie’s talents in predicting the weather are due to a partnership and a connection between himself and the natural world, rather than a one-way relationship.