“They were still in that forgiving time when even their flaws were quaint.”

“That’s what forgiving was: seeing someone for what they were, flaws and all, not what you wanted them to be, not what they should have been.”

“The only time you truly become an adult is when you finally forgive your parents for being just as flawed as everyone else.”

“So many times it seemed like there were chances to stop things before they started. Or even stop them in midstream. But it was even worse when you knew in that very moment that there was still time to save yourself, and yet you couldn't even budge.”

“The last time I bit someone was when we were still living in Denver.”

“This was middle school, the age of miracles, the time when kids shot up three inches over the summer, when breasts bloomed from nothing, when voices dipped and dove. Our first flaws were emerging, but they were being corrected. Blurry vision could be fixed invisibly with the magic of the contact lens. Crooked teeth were pulled straight with braces. Spotty skin could be chemically cleared. Some girls were turning beautiful. A few boys were growing tall.”