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Karen is Jesse’s high school girlfriend. Jesse grows accustomed to her love and acceptance, and he finds himself opening up to her about things he has never told anyone before. Jesse cheats on her while on drugs at a party, and his resulting shame causes him to break up with her without explanation. His grandparents are disappointed that he broke Karen’s heart, since they found her to be a good influence on Jesse.
Karen Quotes in From the Ashes
The From the Ashes quotes below are all either spoken by Karen or refer to Karen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 2, Chapter 17: Opening Up Quotes
And the wall, a thousand miles high, that I kept between me and the rest of the world didn’t exist—not a brick anywhere in sight.
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Part 3, Chapter 2: Adrift Quotes
“You are on your own now—this isn’t your home anymore.”
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Part 3, Chapter 30: The Messenger Quotes
“You put up all these walls to keep people out. Literally—look around. I just don’t have the energy to break them down anymore. No one does.”
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Karen Character Timeline in From the Ashes
The timeline below shows where the character Karen appears in From the Ashes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2, Chapter 16: Berries
At a raging house party one night, Jesse notices a pretty girl with braces named Karen, who earnestly offers home-baked blueberry muffins to everyone. Jesse introduces himself, and soon he and...
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Jesse grows fond of Karen’s father, and the three of them go canoeing. In a harrowing turn of events, their...
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Part 2, Chapter 17: Opening Up
One night, while looking up at the stars, Karen asks Jesse why he lives with his grandparents. Jesse begins opening up about his parents...
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Part 2, Chapter 18: Pride
...bender. He has been kicked out of high school and has no plans for college. Karen worries about him. He goes to a rave and dances on ecstasy for two days,...
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Part 2, Chapter 19: Banana Split
...drugs, they end up having sex with each other. Ashamed, Jesse goes home and calls Karen to break up with her, unable to explain why. Jackie comes in and criticizes him—then...
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