The rules took a while to sort out. Lena and Carmen wanted to focus on friendship-type rules, stuff about keeping in touch with one another over the summer, and making sure the Pants kept moving from one girl to the next. Tibby preferred to focus on random things you could and couldn't do in the Pants --- like picking your nose.

The distinction has blurred between young adult and adult books. Some of the teen books have become more sophisticated.

The present no matter what I brought couldn’t change the past. The Past was set and sealed.

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.

This body is breaking down, but I am not.

I sometimes think the stronger you feel about someone, the harder it is to picture their face when you are away from them.

Love demands everything, they say, but my love demands only this: that no matter what happens or how long it takes, you`ll keep faith in me, you`ll remember who we are, and you`ll never feel despair.