Everything inside me screams for just one more kiss, one more word, one more glance, one more.

Yes," Marcus says. "I understand that you are concerned -- that you all are concerned. You had never heard of the Divergent a week ago, and now all that you know is that they are immune to something to which you are susceptible, and that is a frightening thing. But I can assure you that there is nothing to be afraid of, as far as we are concerned." As he speaks, his head tilts and his eyebrows lift in sympathy, and I understand at once why some people like him. He makes you feel that if you just placed everything in his hands, he would take care of it.

I should wonder what courage—which is the virtue they most value—has to do with a metal ring through your nostril.

We believe in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.

And I'm the kind of person who does not let inconsequential things like boys and near death experiences stop her.

My problem might be that even if I did go home, I wouldn’t belong there, among people who give without thinking and care without trying.

Color fills her cheeks, and I think it again: that Johanna Reyes might still be beautiful. Except now I think that she isn't just beautiful in spite of the scar, she's somehow beautiful with it, like Lynn with her buzzed hair, like Tobias with the memories of his father's cruelty that he wears like armor, like my mother in her plain gray clothing.