"I curled closer to May, comforted by her warmth."

"And Carolina will be cheering on the beautiful daughter of Magda and Shalom Singer, the new Lady America Singer!"

"If you like the lovable sound of an asthma attack in your ear every time you tell a joke."

"There's a different kind of beauty that comes with humility and honesty."

"I couldn't believe it had taken me all these years to see this side of him. He tucked himself inside a shell, shutting himself away from others here because the palace had trapped him. Behind the books and the snippy remarks there was a curious, engaging, and sometimes very charming person."

"When you know who matters most to you, giving things up, even yourself, doesn't really feel like a sacrifice."

"My country can never be taken away from me now, I'd happily given it away."

"No wonder I'd never had any friends. I was shockingly bad at it."

"Please don't cry, darling. I'd spare you tears for the rest of your life if I could."

"When my father is stern, no one chastises him. I don't think it's fair that when I act similarly, I'm seen as cruel. I'm making a huge decision, and I'm trying to be wise about it."

"Yeah, Mom, I'll just keep telling the prince that he has absolutely no shot with me and offend him as often as I can. Great plan."

"In an instant, everything in the room came alive. Like the sunshine had a melody and the sounds of footsteps had a texture I could feel in my fingertips each time anyone moved."

"Castes never meant that much to me."

"I was stunned into silence, the way I always was when he touched the sky places of my heart."

"Maybe this isn't the right thing to say, but I want you to know: When you ran for the stage, I've never been so proud of you in all my life. You've always been beautiful; you've always been talented. And now I know that your moral compass is perfectly aligned, that you see clearly when things are wrong, and you do everything you can to stop it. As a father, I can't ask for more. I love you America. And I'm so so proud."

"I always wondered if they'd change you."

"I wanted to be his dear, his darling."

"You get confused by crying women, I get confused by walks with princes."

"So far, I had a solid collection of my honest opinions."

"I should have known that if any girl was going to disobey an order, it would be you."

"I looked at his face, unsure of how many more of his smiles I'd have."

"I wanted everything from and everything for him, because I wanted every piece of him."

"The look in Marlee's eyes was triumphant, and the smile hiding behind her cup of tea said, 'Gotcha'!"

"If this were a simpler matter, I'd have eliminated everyone else by now. I know how I feel about you. Maybe it's impulsive of me to think I could be so sure, but I'm certain I would be happy with you."

"The Selection was no longer something that was simply happening to me, but something I was actively a part of. I was an Elite."

"I worked, and I was excited about the next time the five of us had a joint class. When that time came, Silvia started by asking us what we were passionate about. I scribbled down my family, music, and then, as if the word demanded to be written, justice."

"They got under each of my shoulders and pulled me up, Padma walking in front of me and holding her arms out for good measure. I walked on my own, but I knew that if they hadn't been there, I might have fallen more than once. Side by side, we marched into the Ocean, all of us crying for."

"No, I'm not choosing him or you. I'm choosing me."

"You have to embrace the idea of imperfection, even in the thing that is most perfect for you."

"Books were a safe place, a world apart from my own. No matter what had happened that day, that year, there was always a story in which someone overcame their darkest hour. I wasn't alone."

"You were the one who changed us when you left me in the tree house; and you keep thinking that if you push hard enough, you can make everything go back to before that moment. It doesn't work that way. Give me a chance to choose you."

"Sometimes you have to give the hurt a noise and let it out. If you don't, it fills you up with its emptiness."

"She wanted to be herself at all costs."

"P.S. May, don't these strawberry tarts just make you want to cry?"

"It makes the idea of in sickness and in health that much more real to see it play out in front of you."

"Every day you say something or do something that challenges me, changes me."

"I thought about the cameras following me in the terminal and pictured my family watching my entrance on TV. I hoped they'd be proud."

"I love you beyond paint, beyond melodies, beyond words. And I hope you will always feel that, even when I'm not around to tell you so."

"We'll when he lets his guard down he's okay. Like when he just talks without checking his words or you catch him just looking at something like... He's really looking for the beauty in it."

"I let myself be sad. I let myself think of him."

"I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy season and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingertips on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you."

"You can be brave and still be feminine. You can lead and still love flowers."

"He must love you very much,' Gavril said once I had my footing.I couldn't look at him. 'What makes you say that?' Gavril sighed. 'I've known Maxon since he was a child. He's never stood up to his father like that."

"I will never forget your fire. I can't wait to see what you do."

"Heal my heart and make it clean, open up my eyes to the things unseen, show me how to love like you have loved me."

"Because even though you're dating five other women, I think I'm cheating on you."

"How had I lost so much in such a short period of time? It would seem like leaving your family, living in some foreign place, and being separated from the person you love should be events that take years to roll into place, not just a day."

"You think you walk, Lucy? I think you fly. You see yourself in a uniform? I see you in a cape. You're a hero, of the quietest but most genuine nature."

"She couldn't have been more than twelve years old. In her hands was a sign that said RED-HEADS RULE! with a little crown painted in the corner and tiny stars everywhere. I knew I was the only redhead in the competition, and I noticed that her hair and mine were very nearly the same shade."

"It's amazing how photography can capture just a split second of something exquisite."