The Romantic Agenda Quotes

“Caroline felt that Malcolm put Joy before their relationship and she was always an afterthought.

Truth be told, it’s always been like that between Malcolm, his partners, and Joy. It starts out fine, but before long, they hate her for no other reason than Malcolm loves her more than they think she deserves.

Joy isn’t his family. She isn’t some ex he’s never gotten over. She’s just a friend.

Just.

A just who shouldn’t be important.

A just who should be discarded.

A just who should disappear.

Joy fought for Malcolm, refusing to drift away, standing by him, until he realized she would always be there. Until he believed it. And so far, she had succeeded where they all failed. The greatest love of his life was, as they put it, just a friend.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“I was fourteen when I realized I was asexual. I didn’t know that word existed yet. I just knew I was different. I remember the exact moment it happened, down to the smallest detail.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“Joy studied movies because she had to. She literally thought everyone was making sexual attraction up. She'd heard countless people describe it, read literally hundreds of romance novels -- there's never any feelings low in her belly, no shivers down her spine. She doesn't have to cross her legs at the sight of veiny forearms, perky breasts, bubble butts, or perfect abs. It just doesn't happen. The day she realized it was, in fact, a very real thing absolutely blew her mind.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“How are we perfect and all wrong for each other at the same time?”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“So much of the ocean is unexplored. We, as a species, can go to the moon and send rovers to Mars, but we’re just fine not knowing what’s happening on our own planet?”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“My parents bought a house for dirt cheap in the seventies and my dad put himself through college with a minimum wage job while taking care of a family. He doesn’t understand why I can’t do the same thing.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“There’s also the impending body horror, the medical racism, and the mortality rate for Black women specifically to think about. If she even survived pregnancy and delivery, she’d then have to deal with the costs of healthcare and childcare, the ramifications of raising a Black kid in a world that would never treat them fairly, never value their life.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“Joy, Queen of Laughing at Her Own Jokes.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“After work, I don’t really want to do anything else. I’m a have dinner, watch a movie, and just rest kind of person.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“Joy has always struggled with expressing the feeling of wanting something someone else has. The only concept she’s ever heard of that comes close is jealousy or envy. If someone is on the brink of having something you want, of course it’s jealousy, right? But it isn’t. The feeling doesn’t eat her alive or try to consume her or twist her insides until they turn green. It can’t be.

If Summer is who Malcolm wants, then good for him. Good for them. When she confesses, if that’s his answer, then she’ll quietly step aside. But until that moment, she’s stuck, unable to understand why not her? What’s wrong with her? It hurts, this unrelenting longing wrapped in unconditional love. Tender and excruciating all at once.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“You know how in games you have a save point? No matter what happens you go back to that point when you run out of lives. Meeting him that day was too important. I can't go back beyond that moment.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“Doesn't he realize Joy incorporated yellow cake for him because it's his favorite? When he eats it, will he notice how she held back on the sweetness for him too? That she chose tangy raspberries over ripe strawberries? This cake is for Fox, yes, but it's also for Malcolm. From Joy to both of them.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“She has being a supportive best friend mastered and down pat. They're already affectionate. They have ten years of history behind them. They barely have any secrets. But something must change when the shift from friend to girlfriend occurs. There has to be some additional element she's never experienced before.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“Fox says, "Ghosts aren't real."
"Mmm." Joy gives his arm a gentle squeeze. "They don't like it when you say that."
"You can talk to ghosts?"
"No, but I'd be pissed too if someone said I didn't exist.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“Joy didn't settle for friendship with Malcolm. She welcomed in, making a choice, and stood by it and him for ten years.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda

“He’d rather settle for Summer than take a chance on Joy.”
― Claire Kann, The Romantic Agenda