“I’d like to make it clear from the start that I am gay, gay,gay. Like, when I come out of the closet, I’m usually wearingmy sister’s prom dress kind of gay.”

“I like people, kind of. I even like boys, mostly. But I was beginning to feel like that stewardess who smiles at you when you get off the plane. Behind the smile you know she really wishes she could trip someone.”

“Up is down. Down is up.” “And that means … ?” “I’m probably half in love with a boy I don’t really like.”

“So Ame stayed home like a good girl, and I snuck out like a bad one. I already longed for a good book and my quilt.”

“Apparently, during the ‘80s, nobody really dressed like Madonna except for Madonna.”

“Everything started the night I saw the burning man fall from the sky.”

“He smiled. I was unprepared for my reaction to the most potent weapon Haden had in his arsenal—a real smile, one that reached his eyes.One genuine emotion was enough to unravel my life from the security of everything I’d ever known.For seventeen years, I’d tried to live Father’s way. Each step measured, my words carefully chosen. In his fortress of fears, I grew up—but not strong. I yearned to replace the hole in his heart left by my mother, so my life never belonged to me. My own heart was my weakest muscle, never exercised, never even flexed.Suddenly, I understood that it still miraculously worked. And it was full. So full it felt like rays of sunshine were bursting through my chest, poking out of me in radiant splendor. Haden spellbound me and life changed to Technicolor. In his smile, I felt the bindings that tethered my spirit rip away.”