65 pages • 2 hours read
All That's Left in the World
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Important Quotes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of anti-gay bias, child death, graphic violence, cursing, illness, and death.
“I cross out the number nine on the sheet and write the new number to the right of it. There are maybe two more weeks before I run out of space and need to start a new sheet. And this time it will all be in my handwriting, not my mom’s.”
(Chapter 2, Page 4)
The inventory sheet that Jamie keeps for his food emphasizes the transition that his character is making. Having recently lost his mother, he was forced to take over the inventory and ultimately care for himself, an idea that is reflected in the transition of the handwriting to his own. Additionally, it establishes Jamie’s character as someone who is careful and meticulous in contrast to Andrew, who stumbled through the woods without a plan until falling into a bear trap. This quiet handoff from a parent’s script to Jamie’s own handwriting embodies Rebuilding Trust After Trauma. He learns to trust his routines—and eventually Andrew and Cara—the way he once trusted his mother.
“The doorknob turns. It’s not locked.
There’s someone out there, and now they’re coming in here.
The door swings open and I take aim.”
(Chapter 2, Page 6)
The initial chapters of the novel are filled with tension and suspense. This idea is reflected in the novel’s structure, as Jamie’s chapter ends with the tense moment of Andrew opening the door. This dramatic irony, where the reader knows that an injured Andrew is on the other side of the door but Jamie does not, reinforces the danger of the world that these boys now inhabit.
