“I miss the Stella girls telling me what I am. That I'm sweet and placid and accommodating and loyal and nonthreatening and good to have around. And Mia. I want her to say, "Frankie, you're silly, you're lazy, you're talented, you're passionate, you're restrained, you're blossoming, you're contrary." I want to be an adjective again. But I'm a noun. A nothing. A nobody. A no one.”

“We're so different. You're an intellectual. I'm an idiot.""Don't say that," I yelled. "You're not an idiot, you stupid idiot.”

“Do you think people have noticed that I'm around?”“I notice when you're not. Does that count?”

“But you're almost eighteen. You're old enough. Everyone else is doing it.And next year someone is going to say to someone else 'but you're only sixteen, everyone else is doing it' Or one day someone will tell your daughter that she's only thirteen and everyone else is doing it. I don't want to do it because everyone else is doing it.”

“You're judging her by her literacy," Tara says. "You're a literacist." "You've made that up.”

“Land?' Froi whispered. 'You're giving them land? I'm not worth the valley.''You're worth a kingdom,' Finnikin said, turning back to the crowd.”

“I just stare at him. I want to ask him a thousand questions, but I can tell he doesn't want to be asked. "We make weird friends," I say instead."I've never been into the f-word with people.""I'm privileged, then? Why me?"He thinks for a moment and shrugs again."You're the realest person I've ever known.""Is that good or bad?""It's fucking awful. There's not much room for bullshit, and you know how I thrive on it."We laugh for a moment and begin walking again.”