No one could tell you: you just had to go through it on your own. If you were lucky, you came out on the other side and understood. If you didn't, you kept getting thrust back, retracing those steps, until you finally got it right.
Sarah DessenShe smiled, pulling the photo a little closer, and I wondered if I should ask her, too, the question for my project, get her definition. But as she ran a finger slowly across the faces, identifying each one, it occurred to me that maybe this was her answer. All those names, strung together like beads on a chain. Coming together, splitting apart, but still and always, a family. (page 289) ~Ruby
Sarah DessenLike a word on a page that youโve printed and read a million times, that suddenly looks strange or wrong, foreign. And you feel scared for a second, like youโve lost something, even if youโre not sure what it is.
Sarah DessenLet me guess,โ Eli said, his voice that low, even timbre, as always. โDrinking from kegs also falls under outdoor activity.โ I just looked at him, standing there in jeans and the same blue hoodie heโd had on the first time I met him. Maybe it was the embarrassment, which had been bad enough before I had an audience, but I was instantly annoyed. I said, โAre we outside?โ He glanced round, as if needing to confirm this. โNope.โ โThen no.โ I turned my attention back to the keg.
Sarah DessenSo what do you wear to dump somebody?" she asked me, twirling a lock of hair around one finger. "Black, for mourning? Or something cheerful and colorful, to distract them from their pain? Or maybe you wear some sort of camouflage, something that will help you disappear quickly in case they don't take it well.
Sarah Dessen