“The feelings I have are not easy to say.”

“I don't know what to say. My mind takes over but my body has no control.”

“The French believe that kids feel confident when they're able to do things for themselves, and do those things well. After children have learned to talk, adults don't praise them for saying just anything. They praise them for saying interesting things, and for speaking well.”

“When I ask French parents what they most want for their children, they say things like "to feel comfortable in their own skin" and "to find their path in the world." They want their kids to develop their own tastes and opinions. In fact, French parents worry if their kids are too docile. They want them to have character. But they believe that children can achieve these goals only if they respect boundaries and have self-control. So alongside character, there has to be cadre.”

“There must be a different kind of love, one I haven't felt yet, when someone looks at you just like you're looking at him and you don't have to say anything.”

“I just do. That’s why it’s love—it’s unconditional. Whether you commit a mistake or a hundred, I would still love you. They say the most romantic kind of love is the unfinished kind. The kind that will forever burn and mark your soul—you’ve bewitched me, body and soul. I love you—and whether you do or don’t feel the same, my love is withstanding and unequivocal.”

“Miss Althea?""I don't blame you, Jesse," she said at last, taking control of her whirling emotions. "I must have…I must have led you astray somehow. But you must never touch me again."Jesse's disappointment was palpable. "Never?" That seemed impossible. To beallowed to know how wonderful it was to feel and smell and taste her and then tonever be allowed that again. It was so unfair. Jesse wanted to cry. It was too unfair.”