Quotes from Sarah Dessen

I walked over, my eyes scanning Luna Blu, my house, and Dave's. But it was the building behind them, that empty hotel, that had the tiniest light, provided by one word, written in fluorescent paint. Maybe it wasn't what was once there, in real life. But in this one, it said it all: STAY.

This thought was interrupted, suddenly, by a crash from the front entrance. We all looked over just in time to see Adam bending back from the glass, rubbing his arm. Pull open, Maggie called out. As Leah rolled her eyes, she said, He never remembers. It's so weird.

Adam picks up the camera] I have to get a shot of this. The reaction in the room was swift, and unanimous: every single person except me raised their hands at once to cover their faces. The accompanying utterances, though, were varied. I heard everything from Please no (Maggie), to Jesus Christ (Wallace), to Stop it or die (I'm assuming it's obvious).

When you've never gotten love from someone, you don't know what it might look like if it ever does appear. You look for it in everything: any bright light overhead could be a star.

Everyone had a forever, but given a choice, this would be mine. The one that began in this moment, with Wes, in a kiss that took my breath away, then gave it back - leaving me astounded, amazed, and most of all, alive.

He'd always had that fearless optimism that made cynics like me squirm. I wondered if it was enough for both of us. I would never know from here, though. And time was passing. Crucial minutes and seconds, each one capable of changing everything.

This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn't just a season or a time but a whole world I'd forgotten. I'd never know until I stepped out into it. So I did.

I'd wanted a real kiss, something to remember, but i'd long ago learned not to be picky with farewells. They weren't guaranteed or promised.You were lucky, more than blessed, if you got a goodbye at all.

As impossible, in fact, as keeping the moon...So I looked down the line at all my friends, knowing I would always remember this. And then I turned my gaze back up to the sky, and put my faith in that moon and its return.

what you have to decide, is how you want your life to be. if your forever was ending tomorrow, would this b the way you'd want to have spent it?

Look. We both know life is short, Macy. Too short to waste a single second with anyone who doesn't appreciate and value you. You said the other day life was long, I shot back. Which is it? It's both, she said, shrugging. It all depends on how you choose to live it. It's like forever, always changing. Nothing can be two opposite things at once, I said. It's impossible. No, she replied, squeezing my hand, what's impossible is that we actually think it could be anything OTHER than that.

You just looked... she said, searching for the word, taken, you know? Plus you hardly reacted to Wes. I mean, you did alittle, but nothing like most girls. It was a little swoon. Not a sa-woon, you know? I said, Sa-woon? Oh, come on, she said shaking her head. Even a blind girl could tell he is amazing.

I took in a breath. What's the one thing you'd do, I asked. if you could do anything? Pass, he said. For a second I was sure I'd heard wrong. What? He cleared his throat. I said, I pass. Why? He turned his head and looked at me. Because. Because why? Because I just do.

And that was it; it was so easy for her. My own memories did not even belong to me. But I knew she was wrong. I had seen that comet. I knew it as well as I knew my own face, my own hands. My own heart.

As Isabel acted out her date, both of them laughing, I stayed in the kitchen, out of sight, and pretended she was telling me, too. And that, for once, I was part of this hidden language of laughter and silliness and girls that was, somehow, friendship.

I missed him, she said finally. I put my hand over hers and sat down, pulling my chair closer. I know, I said softly. You came back from Florida feeling really good, and then you find out he's such a rat bastard that he— No, she said distractedly, interrupting me. I missed him. All those Ensures, and not a one made contact. I have terrible aim. And then she sighed. Even just one would have made it better. Somehow.

I hadn't said goodbye. It had been easier, like always, to just disappear, sparing myself the messy details of another farewell. Now, my fingers hovered over my track pad, moving the cursor down to his comment section before I stopped myself. What was the point? Anything I said now would only be an afterthought. Elizabeth who goes by her middle name

No,' I said, shooting him a look. 'But you don't have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.' You don't have to assume the worst about everyone, either. THe world isn't always out to get you.' In your opinion,' I added. Look,' he said, 'the point is there's no way to be a hundred percent sure about anyone or anything. so you're left with a choice. Eitherhope for the best, or just expect the worst.' If you expect the worst you're never disappointed,' I pointed out. ~Ruby and Nate, pg 259

Sometimes things don't turn out the way you want them to, Haven. Sometimes the people you choose to believe are wrong.

Honestly, I said. What? Come on. You have to admit it's sort of ridiculous. What is? Now that I had to define it, I found myself struggling for the right words. You know, I said, then figured Kristy had really summed it up best. The sa-woon. The what? Wes, come on, I said. Are you seriously not aware of how girls stare at you?

This is what daughters did. They left, and came home later with lives of their own.

I was running from one problem or place to another, with no time left to study, or sleep, or just breathe. I felt pulled in all directions, fighting to keep all these obligations circling in the air above me. It was only a matter of time before something fell.

I didn't want to talk about what happened, so it seemed safest not to talk at all.

I remembered Owen telling me how music had saved him in Phoenix, that it drowned everything out, and it was the same for me now. As long as I had something to listen to, I could blur the things I didn't want to think about, if not block them out completely.