Second Chance Summer, By Morgan Malson

Page 62: "--the realization that just because you'd left something behind didn't mean that it had gone anywhere."

Page 157: "And maybe something good will come of it."

Page 165: "In that moment, I knew that things had changed."

Page 272: "...what I've been doing for years now--running away or quitting whenever things got hard. I'd just never had to deal with the reality that this came with a cost... I'd done my very best to avoid ever having to confront the consequences of my actions. But he was the living proof that leaving something or someone was never just free and easy."

Page 413: "It would be like pulling off a Band-Aid--painful at first, but in the end, better for everyone."

Page 454: "--supporting, encouraging, somehow giving me the confidence I needed to start." "And he was brave enough to admit that he was afraid."

Page 460: "Love isn't all we need--love is all there is." "It will be scary. But I know you can do it."

Smile for the Camera, By Kelle James

Page 23: "...I won't remember the good-bye part anymore: I'll just remember the hello part." "Sometimes it's not that easy, though."

Page 126: "Some feelings are too good for words."

Page 268: "Sometimes when you do the right thing, people aren't going to be happy about it. But you have to do it anyway."

Page 277: "It's not the food. It's the company."

Page 304: "Avoiding pain isn't good enough. If it worked, I'd keep doing it. But it doesn't work. No matter how hard I try, it still finds me."

Page 305: "There is something better for me out there... And I'm going to find it."

Page 312: "For the first time in my life, I'm seeing myself through my own eyes."

Page 317: "Sometimes it's good to have someone to walk with."

Page 324: "When he sets his mind to something, he always gets it done."

Page 325: "He may not hear it in his ears, but he'll hear it in his heart."

Page 359: "Pain is weakness leaving the body."

Page 388: "When I need a hand, she offers both. When I feel left behind, she says life's not a straight line, it's a circle... When i'm weak, she gives me something to carry to prove that it's not true. When I forget who I am, she says she remembers... She's my best friend."

Page 390: "They were not going to save me. I had to save me." "They taught me to say enough is enough--and mean it."

Page 392: "Proving that there's more than one way to stand strong." "It wasn't always easy. It's not supposed to be." "... the things that start out the hardest are usually the things that end up being the most satisfying. It's all about earning it." "...--'cause doing things is what changes things." "I act like my life depends on it. Because it does."

The Expressologist, By Kristina Springer

Page 117: "If there is one thing she could use more of, it's confidence. Because everyone else can see what she doesn't see--she's much smarter, stronger, and more beautiful than she realizes."

Page 171: "When you choose the behavior, you choose the consequences."

Page 174: "I'm so done with guys. Maybe I'll get a goldfish."

Page 180: "I'm different, stronger."

How to Save a Life, By Sara Zarr

Page 18: "No one measures a life in weeks and days. You measure it in years and by the things that happen to you..."

A Walk to Remember, By Nicholas Sparks

Page 21: "She didn't care much about outward appearances, because she was always looking for things like 'inner beauty'."

Page 204: "What's your heart telling you to do?...Maybe, you're trying too hard to hear it."

Page 205: "Time seemed to be slowing down and speeding up at exactly the same time."

Page 222: "she'd shown me that actions--not thoughts or intentions--were the way to judge others."

Page 226: "I am  not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it to the earnestness of others."

Page 234: "All I cared about was doing something my heart had told me was the right thing to do." "...with her patience and kindness she showed me what life is really all about. Her cheerfulness and optimism, even in times of sickness, was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed."

Speechless, By Hannah Harrington

Page 47: "I made a promise to myself."

Page 64: "...It doesn't change who you are, or how much we love you. Nothing could change that." "We just want you to be happy. You know that, right?"

Page 65: "I don't know exactly what I am, but I'm more than that. I know that much."

Page 89: "I started this, and I'm going to finish it."

Page 90: "I have something to prove to myself. That I'm not who everyone thinks I am. That I can stick to this."

Page 110: "When she says something, she means exactly what she says."

Page 192: "It makes me feel in control."

Page 193: "..thinking about the big picture...I want my life to be more than this...I want to be better than this."

Page 195: "Maybe you don't have to say anything. Maybe just being there is enough."

Page 204: "The difference is that most of us want it to mean something."

Page 207: "I am trying to be a person who deserves to be looked at the way [he] is looking at me now, like I'm someone worth caring about, someone worth knowing. I want to prove that the risk he's taken in reaching out to me isn't for nothing."

Page 217: "I thought it was enough, and it is so far from enough. I can't change what I've done and what I haven't done, but I can change what I do now. I can actually do something. Stand for something." "I totally can do this. I can."

Page 219: "You can be surrounded by people and still be lonely. You can be the most popular girl in school,...and still feel completely worthless. The world can be laid at your feet and you can still not know what you want from it." "It means that even then, I knew right from wrong, knew what was really, truly important, knew what I could lose and still, I was willing to give it all up for justice."

Page 235: "It's a big world. There's always more to learn." "Perfection is overrated."

Page 239: "Maybe when it comes down to it, what we're interested in doesn't mean so much--it's who you are that ties people together."

Page 245: "But I'm trying not to hate them, even if it's what they deserve, even if no one would blame me for it. I don't want to live like that." "Hate is...it's too easy...Love. Love takes courage."

Page 252: "...but he looks like he's enjoying himself, and that's what really matters. Having fun."

Page 262: "The fact that they don't need a piece of paper for their relationship to mean something."

Page 264: "Not every chapter of my life is going to have a happy ending, but they all do need endings, regardless...so maybe it's time to make that happen."

Page 267: "But I can't let it control my life." "It is so easy. So easy to look in the mirror at all my imperfections and think of all the ways I fall short of someone [else]...To realize how much I've screwed up and to obsess over all of the terrible ways I've wronged so many people. But even though I know my flaws are many, and there are always ways I could be better, and I should never stop working for that--I also need to give myself a break...Because I'm a work in progress. Because nobody is perfect. At least acknowledge the mistakes I've made, and am making. At least I'm trying. That means something, doesn't it?"

Page 268: "And just because I have room for improvement doesn't mean I'm worthless, or that I have nothing offer to, like, the world." "...but sometimes love is easy, too. When you find it."

Insurgent, By Veronica Roth

Page 1: "I take a deep breath and hold it in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure that is building in my chest."

Page 20: "They each have an equal role in government; they each feel equally responsible. And it makes them care; it makes them kind. I think that's beautiful."

Page 23: "What is wrong with you? I shake my head. Pull it together."

Page 29: "He feels so strong."

Page 32: "So I agree. But I do not change my mind."

Page 35: "I'm your brother.You can tell me anything."

Page 41: "And sometimes, if you want the truth, you have to demand it."

Page 43: "Both of us watch the purification happen, and I wonder if he is thinking what I am: that it would be nice if life worked this way, stripping the dirt from our lives and sending us out into the world clean. But some dirt is destined to linger."

Page 68: "...sometimes, people just want to be happy, even if it's not real."

Page 86: "...taught me an important lesson: how to keep going."

Page 111: "I am sure you can find a way, if you want to. Think about it."

Page 130: "Maybe I should not be so afraid of saying anything, because honesty will make me feel lighter."

Page 151: "I didn't realize that I wore my secrets as armor until they were gone, and now everyone sees me as I really am."

Page 158: "I can't apologize, because I only told the truth, and I can't change the truth into a lie. I can't give excuses."

Page 159: "I wish you trusted me enough to tell me things like that." "I didn't trust him to love me despite the terrible things I had done. I don't trust anyone to do that, but that isn't his problem; it's mine."

Page 241: "This was not an act performed in the heat of passion. It was a calculated act."

Page 265: "I wonder how I seem to them. They must see someone I don't see. Someone capable and strong...someone I can be."

Page 266: "I am whatever I choose to be."

Page 269: "There is always something to learn, always something that is important to understand."

Page 271: "This is what I wanted most to avoid; for my rises and falls to become [his] rises and falls. That's why I can't let him step in to defend me now."

Page 272: "He told me there is a right way to do something, and I needed to figure it out."

Page 283: "...not because they are perfect, but because they are alive. Because they are free."

Page 294: "I forgot how your biases cloud your judgement."

Page 303: "She believes me, she's trying to forgive me, even though it won't be easy."

Page 304: "...she made me feel weak, but now her strength makes me feel like I could be stronger too."

Page 312: "But you would move on, and do what you have to."

Page 313: "I promise."

Page 314: "It's time to put everything in order."

Page 318: "Now there are no reassurances, except that where I go, I go because I choose to."

Page 330: "Something sparks inside me."

Page 335: "She is not reward motivated . Yet she is extremely good at directing her thoughts and actions toward her goals."

Page 345: "She looks fragile, but she is not."

Page 346: "They've made mistakes, of course, but they, like everyone else, are a blend of good and bad, not one or the other." "I feel something shift in my mind, like something that was closed has just opened."

Page 349: "We may both be bad, but there's a huge difference between us--I'm not content with being this way."

Page 364: "I know. I know it's hard. The hardest thing you've had to do."

Page 365: "But you will do it. It doesn't matter if you believe you can or not. You will, because that's who you are."

Page 377: "Grief is not as heavy as guilt, but it takes more away from you."

Page 394: "Those aren't the only reasons people do things for you. Sometimes they do them because they love you."

Page 397: "...when he's supposed to be weak, he's strong."

Page 400: "Maybe I was afraid to trust him with something so personal as my devotion. Or afraid that I did not know what it was to love someone. But now I think the scary thing was not saying it before it was almost too late."

Page 409: "They claim all colors, all activities, all virtues, and all flaws as their own." "...that I am finally seeing him as he is, instead of how he is in relation to me."

Page 418: "Cruelty does not make a person dishonest, the same way bravery does not make a person kind."

Page 429: "...where the pursuit of truth is more important than anything else."

Page 430: "And there were some things I didn't know I had until I lost them" "You have no other choice, I tell myself. There is no other way."

Page 439: "So we give peace to each other, and cherish it."

Page 448: "There's no reason to keep secrets anymore."

Page 454: "Right after I realized my life was worth living."

Page 504: "Everything we have done, and everything we are about to do."

Page 510: "...but sometimes you decide to trust them."

Page 524: "There is a part of me that understands." "...to take what I had learned and use it to help others."

Divergent, By Veronica Roth

*2nd time read: 4/12/14

Page 41: *"...every man has the right to choose his own way in this world."

Page 73: "I can't cry not here. I have to calm down." "Someone who looks so strong shouldn't act so weak." 

Page 90: *"--a reminder of where she was, as well as a reminder of where she is now." "Maybe there is a way to honor my old life as I embrace my new one."

Page 102: "Human reason can excuse any evil; that is why it's so important that we don't reply on it."

Page 111: "...and I think too much and nothing at all."4

Page 124: "I should focus on getting better...not on how badly I did yesterday."

Page 139: "What good is a prepared body if you have a scattered mind?" 

Page 145: "I ignore my fear,...When I make decisions, I pretend it doesn't exist." "To me there's a different between not being afraid and acting in spite of fear, as he does."

Page 190: "No. I guess it was because...I think it's important to protect people. To stand up for people."

Page 191: "My father used to say that sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them."

Page 192: "Awkwardness aside, it is nice to be liked."

Page 206: "We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another."

Page 223: "We are not the same. But we are, somehow, one."

Page 268: "And just because I have room for improvement doesn't mean I'm worthless, or that I have nothing offer to, like, the world." "...but sometimes love is easy, too. When you find it." 

Page 237: "Learning how to think in the midst of fear,...is a lesson that everyone,...needs to learn."

Page 238: "Whatever you are, you are not a failure."

Page 239: "But becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it, that's the point." *"Maybe what I saw as fearless was actually fear under control."

Page 289: "...and even though he saved me, he treated me like I was strong."

Page 299: "And somewhere within me, I find a smile too." "Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person."

Page 311: "and it's when you're acting selflessly that you are at your bravest."

Page 313: "Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up."

Page 315: "...Maybe there's more we all could have done." "--guilt as a tool, rather than a weapon against the self."

Page 320: "I feel like I'm witnessing the beginning of something, but I am not sure what it will be."

Page 325: "Maybe talking about it will help us...somehow."

Page 333: *"You can't be fearless, remember?... Because you still care about things. About your life."

Page 346: *"That is all I need: to remember who I am."

Page 348: "a calm mind is a clear mind."

Page 366: "Sometimes I forget that I can hurt you. That you are capable of being hurt." "He did what he did because he believed in my strength."

Page 442: "But our minds move in a dozen different directions. We can't be confined to one way of thinking..."

Page 451: "...it is brave that she did it without announcing it, without hesitation, and without appearing to consider another option."

Page 458: "Half of bravery is perspective."

Page 469: "...and I will not be able to stop, will not be able to think of anything, until I reach the end."

Page 475: "But I just know, I know what the right thing to do is."

Page 476: "...there is power in self-sacrifice."

The Princess and the Pauper, By Kate Brian

The Running Dream, By Wendelin Van Draanen

Page 16: "Your determination is all that's left."

Page 82: "I fell off, but the merry-go-round keeps moving."

Page 145: "There are no words for this moment."

Page 158: "I want to believe."

Page 202: "Unfortunately there's often a deep, wide abyss between good intentions and concrete actions."

Page 214: "Going over the finish line must be wonderful... it means you finished. You made it. Even if you don't get a medal." "... about the finish line. It's symbolic because it's also the starting line."

Page 217: “Where’s your spirit? Where’s your determination, your drive? …Hasn’t being on this tram taught you that around the bend of every headwind cones a tailwind?”

Page 223: “I can see the grit… The focus.”

Page 237: “The truth is always OK.”

Page 241: “He tells us that life isn’t about what happens to you, it’s about what you do about what happens to you.”

Page 249: “Repetition. Effort. Pain. Success. There really is no shortcut.”

Page 256: “I try to think of good things, but somehow negative thoughts creep in. They take root so easily. Like pesky weeds in a delicate garden.”

Page 258: “You are worthy, okay? Quit telling yourself you’re not.”

Page 278: “But as every athlete knows—-no pain, no gain. So I push myself…”

Page 287: “I want to be around you because you inspire me! You’re amazing. You’re the most incredible person I have ever known.”

Page 291: “I laugh and I smile and I look into his eyes and see my little idea blooming inside him. Suddenly I feel stronger.” “In this moment, anything seems possible.”

Page 302: “Focus on the finish line.”

Page 306: “Her biggest wish isn’t to cross a finish line or have people cheer for her. It’s to have people see her instead of her condition. That’s all anybody with a disability wants. Don’t sum up the person based on what you see, or what you don’t understand; get to know them.”

Page 314: ” It’s disturbing how fast weeds take root in my garden of worthiness. They’re so hard to pull. And grow back easily.”

Page 328: “Minute by minute by minute by minute. Hour by hour… Day by day by day by day. That’s how anybody makes it through anything.”

Page 332: “This race has made me believe that there’s nothing I can’t do.”

Page 119: "It's the first time I've felt ready."

That Summer, By Sarah Dessen

Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

Page 151: "...It'll come when we need it. All of us have photographic memories, but spend a lifetime learning how to block off the things that are really in there."

Sweet 16, By Kate Brian

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys, By Kate Brian

Page 99: “Sorry. Ria doesn’t realize that not all of us need attention from cute boys in order to have self-esteem.”

Page 230: “I got a girl who knows who she is and is really good at being that person.”

Page 234: “…it all made sense at the time, you know?” “Well, everybody makes mistakes, I guess.” “There was just no reason for everyone to be so miserable.” 

Page 257: “But apparently life didn’t imitate movies.”

This Lullaby, By Sarah Dessen

Page 23: “I kept my closet the way I kept everything: neat and tidy.” “…Okay, so maybe I was a little obsessive. But so what? At least I wasn’t a slob.”

Page 27: “Okay, so maybe I did have a bit of history with expecting too much from relationships. 

But gosh, at least I had standards…”

Page 36: “The stupidest part was that I let him, flushed as I was with love (not likely) or lust (more likely)…”

Page 82: “But I always worked harder when I was up against something, or when someone assumed I couldn’t succeed. That’s what drove me, all those nights studying. The fact that so many figured I couldn’t do it.” 

Page 101: “When I think of myself then, what I was like two years ago, I feel like a wound in a bad place, prone to be bumped on corners or edges. Never able to heal.” “Nice girls didn’t do what I did. Nice girls waited. But even before it happened, I’d never counted myself as a nice girl.”

Page 117: “Because I didn’t show weakness: I didn’t depend on anyone.”

Page 142: “It was so hard to explain, but it gave me a chill, every time, almost like he was touching my heart.”

Page 188: “I must say, it’s your confidence that really did me in. You know, so many girls are always insecure, wondering if they’re fat, or if you really like them, but not you.”

Page 264: “And no relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater.”

Page 316: “That strong sense of what we shared, good and bad, that led us to here, where my own story began.”

Page 320: “She fell, she hurt, she felt. She lived. And for all the tumble of her experiences, she still had hope. Maybe this time would do the trick. Or maybe not. But unless you stepped into the game, you would never know.”

Keeping the Moon, By Sarah Dessen

Page 117: “‘A day for solitude and quite: you have a lot to think about. Recycling, renewal, big things to come are on your mind.’”

Page 160: “Believe in yourself up here (in the brain) and it will make you stronger than you could ever imagine.”

Page 171: “I’ve always known who I am. I might not work perfectly, or be like them, but that’s okay. I know I work in my own way.”

Page 202: “Let it go.” “And just like that, I did.”

Page 209: “I don’t believe in failure…Because simply by saying you’ve failed, you’ve admitted you attempted. And anyone who attempts is not a failure. Those who truly fail in my eyes are the ones who never try at all. The ones who sit on the couch and whine and moan and wait for the world to change for them.”

Page 217: “…What you were that night at the beach was just you, Colie. It was all you. Because for once, you believed in yourself. You believed you were beautiful and so did the rest of the world.” “…It’s like the hidden secret that no one tells you. We can all be beautiful girls, Colie. It’s so easy.”

The Hunger Games, By Suzanne Collins

The Summer of Firsts and Lasts, By Terra Elan McVoy