"This isn't my excuse, this is my reality."

"Are you bisexual""Labels were invented for people like you who can't grasp a reality outside of a defined gender role. I like what i like."

"Sometimes you have to choose between a bunch of wrong choices and no right ones. You just have to choose which wrong choices feels the least wrong."

"Don't take life too seriously. Punch it in the face when it needs a good hit. Laugh at it."

"I need one of those chapter breaks. I just want to catch my breath, but I have no idea how."

"You can't get mad at a real ending. Some of them are ugly. It's the fake happily ever afters that should piss you off."

"Bitch you."

"Life can't be divided into chapters...only minutes. The events of your life are all crammed together one minute right after the other without any time lapses or blank pages or chapter breaks because no matter what happens life just keeps going and moving forward and words keep flowing and truths keep spewing whether you like it or not and life never lets you pause and just catch your fucking breath.I need one of those chapter breaks. I just want to catch my breath, but I have no idea how."

"Every incident chips away at your limit. Every time you choose to stay, it makes the next time that much harder to leave. Eventually, you lose sight of your limit altogether, because you start to think, 'I've lasted five years now. What's five more?"

"I've never looked forward before. I've always looked back. I think about the past way too much and I think about what I should have done and everything I did wrong and I've never once looked forward in my life."

"Imagine all the people you meet in your life. There are so many. They come in like waves, trickling in and out with the tide. Some waves are much bigger and make more of an impact than others. Sometimes the waves bring with them things from deep in the bottom of the sea and they leave those things tossed onto the shore. Imprints against the grains of sand that prove the waves had once been there, long after the tide recedes.That was what Atlas was telling me when he said "I love you. He was letting me know that I was the biggest wave he'd ever come across. And I brought so much with me that my impressions would always be there, even when the tide rolled out."

"You probably faked passing out the other day, just so you could be carried in my hot, sweaty, manly arms."

"His memory is the last place i want to be. I would give anything to always be in his present."

"Now I know it's because somewhere in my mind, I still harboured hatred and fear for that man, so it was just easier to erect the brick wall and never look back."

"And when you love someone, seeing them sad also makes you sad."

"My grandfather used to say the placement of a birthmark was the story of how a person lost the battle in their past."

"I think about you every second of every day and I don't know how to get over you, she says."Don't, I beg her. "Please don't get over me."

"Her eyes are sad.My thoughts are sadder.And you can't fall in love with me.She slowly walks inside, avoiding my gaze as she watches her feet with each step.They're the saddest steps I've ever seentaken.I close the door.It's the saddest door I've ever had to close."

"There's a difference between regret and questioning your decision. Regret is counterproductive. It's looking back on a past that you can't change. Questioning things as they occur can prevent regret in the future."

"Only one day at public school and the bitches already made your locker rain?" she laughs. "Impressive."

"It's not so easy when you're trying to win a war against the heart."

"Never judge others. You both know good and well how unexpected events can change who a person is. Always keep that in mind. You never know what someone else is experiencing within their own life."

"Does he treat you with respect at all times? That's the first question. The second question is, if he is the exact same person twenty years from now that he is today, would you still want to marry him? And finally, does he inspire to be a better person? You find someone you can answer yes to all three, then you've found a good man."

"I'm not capable of being casual with you, Lily."

"His fingers have been slowly lacing through my hair."

"I would give anything to have that memory back--to see what it was like between us when we loved each other enough to believe it was forever."

"I'm really hoping he's being genuine because I can already tell he isn't the kind of guy a girl gets a simple crush on. He's the kind of guy you fall hard for, and the thought of that terrifies me. I don't really want to fall hard for anyone at all, especially someone who's only making an effort because he thinks I'm easy. I also don't want to fall for someone who has already branded himself hopeless. But I'm curious. So curious."

"I'm not a sucker for happily ever afters, but if these two characters don't get theirs I might climb inside this e-reader and lock them both inside that damn garage forever."

"Maybe I'm not the hero to her I've always tried so hard to be, because right now, I feel as if she doesn't even need a hero. Why would she? She has someone so much stronger than I'll ever be for her. She has herself."

"Nothing is permanent. The only thing any of us have in common is the inevitable."

"I'm a fool.At least i'm a self aware fool."

"I know my mouth is agape and my eyes are wide, but I'm relieved that hope isn't a tangible thing, because everyone around me would see mine crumbling."

"Does not-your boyfriend realize I'm Mormon?"I nod. "It turns out, Holder doesn't have an issue with Mormons at all. He just has an issue with assholes."

"Sometimes two people have to fall apart, to realize how much they need to fall back together."

"I never realised how powerful desire could be. It consumes every part of you, enhancing your senses by a million."

"She's absolutely beautiful. Her hope is beautiful. The smile on her face is beautiful. The tears streaming down her cheeks are beautiful.Herloveisbeautiful."

"I enjoy reading books like that because it's not at all the life I lead. It's completely different than any situation I'll ever be in, thank God. But I get entertainment out of it. Because as much as I like to read about a guy telling a girl she's so, so wet for him...if anyone ever said that to me during sex, I wouldn't be turned on by it. I would be terrified I accidentally peed on myself.'Ben laughs. 'And if you and I were having sex and you told me you owned me, I would literally crawl out from under you, put on my clothes, walk out of your house, and go puke in your front yard."

"The things that knock you down in life are tests, forcing you to make a choice between giving in and remaining on the ground or wiping the dirt off and standing up even taller than you did before you were knocked down. I'm choosing to stand up taller. I'll probably get knocked down a few more times before this life is through with me, but I can guarantee you I'll never stay on the ground."

"And sometimes when I feel that much emotion, something inside of me just snaps."

"How could she love him after what he did to her? How could she contemplate taking him back? It's sad that those are the first thoughts that run through our minds when someone is abused. Shouldn't there be more distaste in our mouths for the abusers than for those who continue to love the abusers?"

"People say not to judge a book by its cover, but what if you somehow read the inside of the book without seeing the cover first? And what if you really liked what was inside the book? Of course when you go to close the book and are about to see the cover for the first time, you hope it's something you'll find attractive. Because who wants an incredibly written book sitting on their bookshelf if they have to stare at a shitty cover?"

"I've lost a lot in my long life. Yes, I've seen pain and I've seen strife. But I'll never give up; I'll never let go. Because I'll always have my ray of hope."

"But the second she opened her eyes and looked at me, I knew. She was either going to be the death of me . . . or she was going to be the one who finally brought me back to life."

"I want to reach over and grab her hand to comfort her. I want to say something reassuring to her. If this were yesterday, I'm sure I would have done that without a second thought. But it's not yesterday. It's today, and Charlie and I are complete strangers today."

"As an author, I want to write what I'm inspired to write. Not what my readers want me to write. I feel like the books will ultimately be better if my heart is fully into what I'm writing."

"How your heart can possibly find a way to love and trust a man again proves that I've fallen in love with the bravest woman I've ever known. I know how much courage it took for you to allow me in after what your father did to you. And I swear I will spend every last breath thanking you for allowing yourself to love me. Thank you so much for loving me, Linden Sky Hope."

"Every time the song looped, all I heard was the part about the lies - and how they weigh you down. Tonight, as I drive toward Detroit in my Jeep, I know what those words really mean. It's not just the lies they're referring to. It's life. You can't run to another town, another place, another state. Whatever it is you're running from - it goes with you. It stays with you until you find out how to confront it."

"Feel free to look around, but being as though there aren't any people eighteen or older here, stay off the bed. I'm not allowed to get pregnant this weekend."

"Should it matter what genre it is if the book is good?"

"She climbs inside the car and they leave, and I just stand there watching them because I don't know that I've ever had a friend like her in my whole life. Maybe it's the wine. I don't know, but I love today. Everything about it. I especially love how Ryle looks, leaning against my car, watching me."You're really beautiful when you're happy."