And it was at moments like this that she had to remind herself that she was in love with him, or had once been in love with him, a long time ago.

…and Emma felt another small portion of her soul fall away.

It's hard to overestimate the teenage appetite for high drama.

You can live your whole life not realizing that what you're looking for is right in front of you.

All his words and actions would now be fit for his daughter’s ears and eyes. Life would be lived as if under [her] constant scrutiny. He would never do anything that might cause her pain or anxiety or embarrassment and there would be nothing, absolutely nothing in his life to be ashamed of anymore.

Everything was fine, and she had the rare, new sensation of being exactly where she wanted to be.

…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again.