As much as I'm drawn to writing about teenage girls, I like the idea of having the freedom to branch out and write about different ages, for different ages.

Maybe it didn’t matter if you were a world-famous heartthrob or a painful geek. Maybe it didn’t matter if you friend was possibly dying. Maybe you just got through it. Maybe that was all you could ask for.

Because she was raw and uncertain, and she liked to keep all the messy parts of herself to herself. ... As much as Lena liked to hide the mess and display the finished product, by this point she was all mess and no product.

He'd pushed her. He'd scared her. He'd besieged her. He'd vowed he wouldn't, and he did.

Maybe there is more truth in how you feel than in what actually happens.

Sometimes you need to make a mess. -Loretta, the Rollinses' hosekeeper

She got tired of herself. She got tired of not being able to say what she wanted or do what she wanted or even want what she wanted.