Sentence 3

Her sentence: But that was what I was doing: playing. Until the game was up.
from Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Dessen's use of a colon creates a pause, identifying the antecedent of "that". The following fragment qualifies the previous statement, highlighting the speaker's frustration at her own actions.

My sentence: But I knew what I wanted: everything. Always the selfish one.

Sentence 2

Her sentence: "I do my best, thinking of them one by one, releasing them like birds from the protective cages inside me, locking the doors against their return."

From Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins



Her use of parallel phrases chronicle the mental steps Katniss takes to get past the agony of leaving her family and dear friends.

My sentence: I storm away, blocking their petty screams out of my memory, sealing my eardrums against the inevitable attacks, vowing to forget them and rise above the filth of their incessant squabbles.

Sentence 1

Her sentence: "The blonde hair, the green eyes, the number...it's Glimmer."

From The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

The use of asyndeton emphasizes the list of familiar attributes that Katniss rapidly recognizes in her mutated enemy, resembling a stream of consciousness type of writing. The ellipsis builds suspense until the realization hits...the mutts are the fallen tributes.

My sentence: The ambulance, the blood, the shrieks...we're in trouble.