Parents were the only ones obligated to love you; from the rest of the world you had to earn it.

Bridget cried for the leavers and the left. For the people, like herself, grimly forsaking what precious gifts they would ever get.

The path of your life can change in an instant.

Why does he have to be my boyfriend? Are you inferior if you don't have a boyfriend? Why does everybody have to be in love with somebody?

She existed in her friends; there she was. All the parts of herself she'd forgotten. She knew herself best when she was with them.

Their friendship was only one aspect of their lives but it seemed to give meaning to all the others.

Her vision of the world under the water represented a beautiful stillness, a version of heaven. It was the lost city of Lena, her alternate universe, the life she yearned for but didn't get to have.