Developing characters is a strange thing. In the beginning they are abstract and I wonder how to move on from there.

Carmen didn't like change, and she certainly didn't like endings.

She used to cry roughly three times a year. Now she seemed to cry three times before breakfast. Could that be considered progress?

How could you cleanse yourself if you couldn’t forget?

Shy” was the sympathetic interpretation she got from older people. “Snotty” was the interpretation she got from people her own age.

He took her hand and they started walking toward the baggage claim. They didn't say anything to each other. They swung their held hands like little kids, like they believed anything could happen, like they might take off soaring into the air. All the things you wanted to happen could happen. Why not?

Riley was quiet for a minute. She gathered her blanket all around her. "Paul always loved you, Alice. He knows I know that. I know he loves me, too. But it's different." Alice opened her mouth, but nothing came out at first. "He loved me once. But I think that part is over," she said slowly. "No, it's not. It hasn't even begun." Riley took Alice's bare foot in her hand and squeezed it. "I told him, though, that he better be good to you. When you came along, I said I'd share you, but I told him to remember that you're my sister. I loved you first."