"Like a rock climber facing a sheer cliff" (Simile)
To illustrate Tally's feelings of being overwhelmed and helpless because of her lack of contact with Peris since his operation, Westerfeld employs a simile that compares Tally's plight to that of a rock climber facing an almost insurmountable obstacle.
"The stately band of silver became a snarling monster" (Metaphor)
The slow-moving river becomes a series of rapids upstream, which Westerfeld describes as "a snarling monster" to indicate the ferocity of the water's movement and the danger it presents to would-be travelers.
"Like something caught in the wind" (Simile)
As she hoverboards beyond the Rusty Ruins, Tally feels "like something caught in the wind, not knowing which direction the journey would ultimately take her." Here, Westerfeld uses a simile to illustrate how powerless Tally feels to confront the whims of fate, as she sets out into the unknown.
"Little spiral galaxies set in motion by her passing" (Metaphor)
While walking through the remains of the Smoke, Tally is surrounded by bits of floating ash that "swirl around (her), little spiral galaxies set in motion by her passage." This metaphor emphasizes the circular motion of the ashes, and Tally's supreme influence over them.
"Fell flat, like a song she'd heard too many times" (Simile)
That Tally's frequent fantasy of partying as a new pretty with Peris and Shay is compared to "a song she'd heard too many times" is evidence of an emotional shift in Tally; it is suddenly tiresome to her to imagine living the same life everyone else lives.
