I want to make sure that the first person you kiss loves you, okay?

I would die for you. But I won't live for you.

It's okay to feel things. And be who you are about them.

When we were all getting ready to leave, I walked up to my grandfather and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. He wiped my lip print off with his palm and gave me a look. He doesn't like the boys in the family to touch him. But I'm very glad that I did it anyway in case he dies. I never got to do that with my Aunt Helen.

And she says she wants to expose me to all these great things. And to tell you the truth, I don't really want to be exposed to all these great things if it means that I'll have to hear Mary Elizabeth talk about all the great things she exposed me to all the time. I don't understand that. I would give someone a record so they could love the record, not so they would always know that I gave it to them.

there was a time when these weren't memories.

Writing a novel is a lot like directing a movie because you are creating a world and a tone, you are creating a large canvas and all the details.