“You're better than this. Better than whatever it is you're going to do now.”

“The book's always better than the movie.”

“You understand your responsibilities better than guardians twice your age. You'll do what you have to do to succeed.”

“No, you will listen. For once, you're going to hear something that doesn't fit into your neat, compartmentalized world of order and logic and reason. Because this isn't reasonable. If you're terrified, believe me--this scares the hell out of me, too. You asked about Rose? I tried to be a better person for her--but it was to impress her, to get her to want me. But when I'm around you, I want to be better because...well, because it feels right. Because I want to. You make me want to become something greater than myself. I want to excel. You inspire me in every act, every word, every glance. I look at you, and you're like...like light made into flesh. I said it on Halloween and meant every word: you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen walking this earth. And you don't even know it. You have no clue how beautiful you are or how brightly you shine.”

“Smiling, I cut across the quadrangle toward the commons. I felt better about life than I had in a very long time. We could do this, Lissa and me. We could do this together.”

“Why not wear a scar of Motherhood? Better than a tattoo or a mark of Honor. Let the world know what you've achieved.”

“The only thing better than imagining Dimitri carrying me in his arms was imagining him shirtless while carrying me in his arms.”