Hazel has to realize that her mom was wrong when she said, “I won’t be a mother anymore.” The truth is, after Hazel dies (assuming she dies), her mom will still be her mom, just as my grandmother is still my grandmother even though she has died. As long as either person is still alive, that relationship survives. (It changes, but it survives.)

Ergo: girls should always make the first move, because (a) they are, on the whole, less likely to be rejected than guys, (b) that way, girls will never get kissed unless they want to be kissed.

Well, but you can eat Grandma's cookies. They're not bad for you. They were made by Grandma. Grandma wouldn't hurt you.

My heart is really pounding," I said. "That's how you know you're having fun," Margo said.

Because no one thought she was a person, she had no one to really talk to.

I'm a good person but a shitty writer. You're a shitty person but a good writer. We'd make a good team.

She was nothing but good and I was nothing but bad, but then she died, and I didn't.