It was the Magic Hour, the moment in time when every leaf and blade of grass seemed to separate, when sunlight, burnished by the rain and softened by the coming night, gave the world an impossibly beautiful glow.

It isn’t about being at the same school or the same town or even the same room. It’s about being together. Love is a choice you make.

....both had learned that everything could change in an instant, and that the heartfelt vows of people in love were fragile words that, once shattered, could cut so deeply you'd bleed forever.

If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.

Fifteen minutes later, Betsy came thundering down the stairs. "I'm going to the mall with Sierra to see a movie." Michael leaned forward, switched off the television. "Can you please rephrase that in the form of a question?" "Sure. Can I have some money?

Lately he'd been seen going out less and less, becoming that strangest of animals in a small town: a loner.

Popularity means people think they know you.