“We were all in it together, of course, desperate to regain some hypothetical upper hand by any means necessary.”

“God Sophie... If there were any chance we could be together... If there were any woman I'd want to be the mother of my... Shit, this is so hard.""No, Hunt, it's simple. If right now is all we have, if this is all we get, then I'll grab it with both hands and take all I can.”

“But she knew this,—that it was necessary for her happiness that she should devote herself to some one. All the elegancies and outward charms of life were delightful, if only they could be used as the means to some end. As an end themselves they were nothing. ”

“By any means necessary.”

“Of course you are. The tributes were necessary to the Games, too. Until they weren't," I say. "And then we were very disposable - right, Plutarch?”

“So how are we suppose to win? On the one hand, the world tells us that capital-L Love is epic, and all-conquering, and the meaning of everything, but on the other, it drills us with this message that we shouldn't make any sacrifice or effort to pursue it, because that would make us weak, unempowered, desperate, silly girls.”