“What does a boy who' witnessed what Charlie's witnessed know about trust? How does a boy like that discern right from wrong?”

“He said, “Charlie isn’t like us, you know?” and I knew what he meant, but somehow it was that not-like-us that made me love Charlie more.”

“Charlie turned to me. "Want some?"I said, "Nah." What I meant was: Who are you?”

“You know that saying about how you don’t know what you have until it’s gone? I already did know what I had, and now that she’s gone, I know even more.”

“The pastor is saying something about how Charlie was a free spirit. He was and he wasn't. He was free because on the inside he was tied up in knots. He lived hard because on the inside he was dying. Charlie made inner conflict look delicious.”

“I never asked her how she was, because I didn't really think about how she was. I just thought about what she thought of me.”

“Some of you have it ingrained in you. You weren't born with it. No baby has hate for anything. We were all babies once, right? This little guy doesn't care what country you were born in or what religion you might practice or how much you weigh or who you might love.”