"What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed in there, regardless. It wasn't just about blood relations or shared chromosomes, but something wider, bigger. We had many families over time. Our family of origin, the family we created, and the groups you moved through while all of this was happening: friends, lovers, sometimes even strangers. None of them perfect, and we couldn't expect them to be. You can't make any one person your world. The trick was to take what each could give you and build your world from it."
— Sarah Dessen

"Holding anger is a poison...It eats you from inside...We think that by hating someone we hurt them...But hatred is a curved blade...and the harm we do to others...we also do to ourselves."
— Mitch Albom (The Five People You Meet in Heaven)

"Nate: “And,” he said, “boys at twelve aren’t exactly slick with the ladies.”
Ruby: “’Slick with the ladies’?” I said. “Are you twelve?”"
— Sarah Dessen

"Whenever something great happens, you’re always kind of poised for the universe to correct itself."
— Sarah Dessen (Lock and Key)