Halo (Halo #1)

"Humans were so preoccupied with love. They were all desperate to form an attachment to one person they could refer to as "their other half." It seemed from my reading of literature that being in love meant becoming the beloved's entire world. The rest of the universe paled into insignificance compared to the lovers. When they were separated, each fell into a melancholy state, and only when they were reunited did their hearts start beating again. Only when they were together could they really see the colors of the world. When they were apart, that color leached away, leaving everything a hazy gray."

"I'd listened in on the prayers of teenage girls and most of them centered on being accepted by the "popular" crowd and finding a boyfriend who played on the rugby team."

"...we angels didn't have a navel--just smooth white skin, freckle and indentation free."

"Gabriel turned to look at me, his eyes the color of thunder."

"But if I'd learned anything about teenage romance, it was that intensity wasn't dictated by duration. Three months was the norm, six months marked a turning point, and if a relationship lated a year, the pair was more or less engaged."

"That was the effect he had on me--an explosion of happiness in my chest, scattering like little beads and making my whole body shiver and tingle."

"For the evening at least, feminist philosophy had been abandoned, and the girls, like fairy-tale princesses, allowed themselves to be led up the flight of steps and into the foyer."

"Although the boys looked dashing in their tuxedos, they were only really there as escorts; the night clearly belonged to the girls, every face I saw wore the same expression of anticipation."

"Lana's eyes narrowed in annoyance at having given so much and recieved so little."

"My hesitation was starting to make Xavier uncomfortable."

"Taylah stared after us as we pulled out of the drive, obviously wondering who had abducted her best friend and replaced her with this imposter."

It seemed from my reading of literature that being in love meant becoming the beloved's entire world. The rest of the universe paled into insignificance compared to the lovers. When they were separated, each fell into a melancholy state, and when they were reunited their hearts started beating again. Only when they were together could they really see the colors of the world. When they were apart, that color leeched away, leaving everything a hazy gray. (pg 12 ARC)

It had been decided that a school would be a useful place to begin our work of countering the emissaries of darkness, given it was full of young people whose values were still evolving. (pg 21 ARC)

I'd listened in on the prayers of teenage girls and most of them centered on being accepted by the "popular" crowd and finding a boyfriend who played on the rugby team. (pg 27 ARC)

We had predicted that our arrival was bound to make an impression but we hadn't counted on people stopping to openly gawk at us, or stepping aside as though they were being visited by royalty., (pg 29 ARC)

I was starting to get a sense of the extent of the damage done by the Agents of Darkness and it wasn't looking good. (pg 35 ARC, in response to an uptick in robberies, freak accidents and the flu)

That was going to be a problem during games seeing as we angels didn't have a navel - just smooth white skin, freckle and indentation free. (pg 42 ARC)

"They all seem lost to me," Gabe said. "I wonder if any of them really know what life is all about. I didn't realize we'd be starting from scratch. This is going to be harder than I thought." He fell silent and we all were reminded of the epic task we had ahead of us. (pg 48 ARC, in response to the normal actions of teenage girls seeing a good-looking guy)

The proverb that Cleanliness is next to Godliness couldn't have been more accurate. (pg 77 ARC, in response to Molly's messy locker).

We thought of technology as a sort of corrupting influence, promoting antisocial behavior and detracting from family values. (pg 101 ARC)

Sometimes it was easier not to argue with Xavier when his objective was taking care of me.

I liked the way he held me; as if I were fragile and likely to break if he held too tight.

"...absorbed in my fantasy of being stranded on a secluded island somewhere in the Caribbean or held captive on a pirate ship, waiting for Xavier to come and rescue me...

“Because I’m a man,” Xavier said. “And men don’t wear makeup unless they’re emo or play in a boy band.”

“I’m a boy. We like engines.”

The studious girls, who’d never had to rely on their own imaginations before, flew into a panic.

“We don’t know what to write about!” they wailed. “It’s too hard.”
“Just think about it for a while,” said Miss Castle in her floaty voice.
“Nothing interesting happens to us.”
“It doesn’t have to be personal,” she coaxed. “It can be a total figment of your imagination.”
The girls remained uninspired.
“Can you give us an example?” they persisted.
“We’ve been looking at examples all term,” said Miss Castle in a dejected tone. Then an idea
for a starting point came to her. “Think about qualities you find attractive in a boy.”
“Well, I think intelligence is very important,” a girl named Bianca volunteered.
“Obviously, he should be a good provider,” her friend Hannah piped up.
Miss Castle looked at a loss. She was spared having to comment by a contribution from a
different quarter.
“People are only interesting if they’re dark and disturbed,” said Alicia, one of the goths.
“Chicks shouldn’t talk so much,” drawled Tyler from the back of the room. It was the first
thing we’d heard him say all term, and Miss Castle was graciously prepared to overlook its
derogatory nature.

“All we can do is pray for divine intervention.”

He picked up the bar and waved it through the air making a whistling noise with his mouth. "It'll be a lot more embarrassing if we have to start playing airplanes."
"What's airplanes?"
"A game mothers play to get stubborn children to eat."
"I laughed, and he seized the opportunity of flying the health bar straight into my mouth.