“Life is messy,” Dr. Lau was fond of saying. “Deal with it. If you’re judging it, you’re not really seeing it.”

“They should tell you when you’re born: have a suitcase heart, be ready to travel.”

“Saying you're through with romance is like saying you're done with living, Betty. Life is better with a little romance, you know.”

“Owen begins to cry in an undignified manner, although he isn't entirely sure why he is crying. Curtis takes Owen's hand, leading Owen away from the puddle."You know," says Curtis, "you may see her again someday.""Cool," says Owen, and with that, he stops crying.”

“What are you reading?" Owen asks."Charlotte's Web," Liz says. "It's really sad. One of the main characters just died.""You ought to read the book from end to beginning," Owen jokes. "That way, no one dies, and it's always a happy ending.”

“If your last words are somehow meant to encapsulate your entire existence, Liz finds um strangely appropriate. Um means nothing. Um is what you say while you're thinking of what you'll really say. Um suggests someone interrupted before they'd begun. Um is a fifteen-year-old girl who gets hit by a taxicab in front of a mall on the way to help pick out a prom dress for a prom she isn't even going to, for God's sake.”

“You know this girl.Her hair is neither long nor short nor light nor dark. She parts it precisely in the middle.She sits precisely in the middle of the classroom, and when she used to ride the school bus, she sat precisely in the middle of that, too.She joins clubs, but is never the president of them. Sometimes she is the secretary; usually, just a member. When asked, she has been known to paints sets for the school play.She always has a date to the dance, but is never anyone’s first choice. In point of fact, she’s nobody’s first choice for anything. Her best friend became her best friend when another girl moved away.She has a group of girls she eats lunch with every day, but God, how they bore her. Sometimes, when she can’t stand it anymore, she eats in the library instead. Truth be told, she prefers books to people, and the librarian always seems happy to see her.She knows there are other people who have it worse—she isn’t poor or ugly or friendless or teased. Of course, she’s also aware that the reason no one teases is because no one ever notices her.This isn’t to say she doesn’t have qualities.She is pretty, maybe, if anyone would bother to look. And she gets good enough grades. And she doesn’t drink and drive. And she says NO to drugs. And she is always where she says she will be. And she calls when she’s going to be late. And she feels a little, just a little, dead inside.She thinks, You think you know me, but you don’t.She thinks, None of you has any idea about all the things in my heart.She thinks, None of you has any idea how really and truly beautiful I am.She thinks, See me. See me. See me.Sometimes she thinks she will scream.Sometimes she imagines sticking her head in an oven.But she doesn’t.She just writes it all down in her journal and waits.She is waiting for someone to see.”