“Have you tried talking to her?" "No. We've been punching her in the face repeatedly. What? You don't think that will work?”

“What about Isabelle?" Simon asked. "Where is she?" The humor, such as it was, left Jace's expression. "She won't come out of her room," he said. "She thinks that what happened to Max was her fault. She won't even come to the funeral." "Have you tried talking to her?" "No," Jace said, "we've been punching her repeatedly in the face instead. Why, do you think that won't work?" "Just thought I'd ask." Simon's tone was mild.”

“Stay away from her. Don't look at her; don't even think about her. If she appears to you in your dreams, wake up and punch yourself in the face for me.”

“If you say “I don't read” like it's something to be proud of, punch yourself in the face repeatedly.”

“You cannot punch Tegan in the face, you cannot punch Tegan in the face, I kept repeating over and over in my head. It had basically been my mantra since I started here, but it was getting harder and harder to uphold.”

“I tried to talk to Annabeth, but she was acting like I'd just punched her grandmother.”