“It's just so out of control. Life, I mean. The way it flies off in all these different directions without your permission.”

“Sometimes when your life seems most out of control, you know there's a direction. I don't mean you can't have free will--in fact, that can be the most important part.”

“Listen to me. They may control what you do, but no one can pee on your soul without your permission.”

“Endless nights took on my whole life. Or so I thought. It turns out that all your friends, they were just mean, dressed up.”

“I smell the fresh sea air, and have never felt so at home in my life, out on the open waters, no land as far as the eye can see. It's amazing, beautiful and the air smells of adventure, just the way it should. Just the way it always would if I could control everythig.”

“Without lifting her head, she said, “I want you to get out.” And right then I was sure: M had been born with the mean gene. It’s the way we come out, Toby said. Maybe M being mean wasn’t any different than Mike and Chad being gay, or me having freckles. Mean was just the way she came out. She hated me all right, but it was nothing personal.”