29 Quotes by Rachel Lynn Solomon

"The love that I wanted so desperately: this isn’t what I thought it would feel like. It’s made me dizzy and it’s grounded me. It’s made me laugh when nothing is funny. It shimmers and it sparks, but it can be comfortable, too, a sleepy smile and a soft touch and a quiet, steady breath. Of course this boy—my rival, my alarm clock, my unexpected ally—is at the center of it. And somehow, it’s even better than I imagined."

"When he grins, it’s bright enough to light up the night sky. It’s kind of beautiful."

"Boy bands, fan fiction, soap operas, reality TV, most shows and movies with female main characters . . . We’re still so rarely front and center, even rarer when you consider race and sexuality, and then when we do get something that’s just for us, we’re made to feel bad for liking it. We can’t win."

"How do you tell the person you’ve spent four years trying to destroy that you have a crush on them?"

"Today isn’t my epilogue with Neil—it’s a beginning. I’ll leave the happily-ever-afters in the books."

"People think it’s harmless. They think it’s funny. That’s why they do it,” I say, trying to ignore the strange shiver where he touched my arm. Must be static electricity. “And sure. I guess it’s harmless until something bad happens. It’s harmless, and then there are security guards at your synagogue because someone called in a bomb threat. It’s harmless, and you’re terrified to get out of bed Saturday morning and go to services."

"Is there a word for what happens after your sworn nemesis lets you into their room and tells you their secrets?"

"So often, I'm trapped between the pain of remembering and the fear of forgetting."

"Am I still ambitious if I've failed?"

"My problems are not in the same country as hers and Ima's. They're not on the same map. Does that make them less valid?"