“We're in the Chicago suburbs, ruling our 'hood and the streets that lead here. It's a street war, where othersuburban gangs fight us for territory. Three blocks away are mansions and million-dollar houses. Right here,in the real world, the street war rages on. The people in the million-dollar houses don't even realize a battle isabout to begin less than a half mile from their backyards.”

“I don't belong here. It doesn't matter, because even if I don't belong in this place, she's here and I want to be where she is.”

“I'm standing here, holding a half a lemon in my hand. I'm speechless, I'm excited . . . I'm a wreck. Caleb wants to be where I am.”

“Sometimes you have to steer away from the crowd in order to be a better person. It's not always easy, that's for sure. But it's right. And sometimes doing the right thing feels good, even if it does end up in a trip to the principal's office.”

“Sometimes we have to prove to others we're strong even where we're not.”

“When my eyes meet his gaze as we're sitting here staring at each other, time stops. Those eyes are piercing mine, and I can swear at this moment he senses the real me. The one without the attitude, without the facade[...]”

“Isn't that why we're put on this earth to begin with, to make it a better place? It's not a religious quest; it's a humanitarian one.”