“they can also be as manipulative as a James Taylor song. Sure, they're calming and bring you to a good place-but at their core, the whole goal of the damn thing is to undo you.”

“There are some people in your life who bring back old memories. And there are others - your first kiss, your first love, your first sex - who, the moment you see them, bring a spark...and something far more potent. They bring back your old life and with that, potential. And possibilities. And the feeling that if you were back in that time, life could be so very different from where you're stuck right now. That's the most tantalizing thing....I want my potential back.”

“It's so damn easy to judge. But as Paolo knows from his niece, no matter how much you want someone back in your life, sometimes it's the letting-them-back-in part that hurts the most”

“She dumped me for the worst reason of all. For absolutely no reason at all...I mean, if she fell in love with someone else, or I did something wrong, or I let her down in some unforgivable way...That, I'd understand, right? But instead, she said...it wasn't anything. Not a single thing. It was just me. I was nice. I was kind. We just...she didn't see the connection anymore. I think she thought I was boring. And the cruelest part is, when someone says something mean about you, you know when they're right.”

“It's rotten, okay? And once something's rotten, it can never be good again.”

“Life is a monster, Calvin. Especially when it doesn't turn out the way you hoped. But that doesn't mean you can hide from it.”

“...as your father, my instinct is to protect you ... Other people will want to protect you too. But remember that you are not a damsel in distress, waiting for some prince to rescue you. Forget the prince. With your brain and your resourcefulness, you can rescue yourself.”