Marina sighs. "Love's a tidal wave," she says. "Because it sweeps you off your feet?" I ask. "No. Because it sucks you under and you drown.

I think this is every mother's worst nightmare - something dreadful happening to her child.

Dante believed God punished suicides by trapping the person's spirit in a tree trunk. On Judgment Day, they were the only sinners who didn't get their souls back, because they tried to get rid of them once before.

In books, you always know what's coming next. There are no surprises.

Saying goodbye to the people you love isn't easy

He knew that there was a difference between something that makes you happy and something that doesn’t make you unhappy. The trick was convincing yourself these were one and the same.

The best thing about endings is knowing that just ahead is the daunting task to start over.