“Maybe they had become volcano smoke jumpers, diving into an unknown risk to do a dangerous job because, in part, it was a social good and, in part, because they loved the big show.”

“But I had loved him. A part of me still did. Maybe more than a part of me, because I'm a complete moron.”

“[Large countries'] patriotism is different: they are buoyed by their glory, their importance, their universal mission. The Czechs loved their country not because it was glorious but because it was unknown; not because it was big but because it was small and in constant danger. Their patriotism was an enormous compassion for their country.”

“He was warm, partly because he had on many layers, and partly because boys whoa re part wolf and part wind do not get cold.”

“...part of the mind's job was to cast doubt on what the heart knew to be true, and the heart, because it had no words, often lost the argument”

“One might think that a boy who was out in the snow for so long would get cold, but Max was not. He was warm, partly because he had on many layers, and partly because boys who are part wolf and part wind do not get cold.”