Melina Marchetta, On the Jellicoe Road

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Griggs."Anson Choi feigns surprise. "What's her name?""I didn't actually catch her name,"Griggs continues."Lily,"Raffaela says over her shoulder and this time I give her a sideways look."Great to know that I'm in love with a girl with a cool name.""It's Taylor's middle name,"Raffaela calls back again."

"This is the best night of my life,"Raffy says, crying."Raffy, half our House has burnt down,"I say wearily. "We don't have a kitchen.""Why do you always have to be so pessimistic?"she asks. "We can double up in our rooms and have a barbecue every night like the Cadets."Silently I vow to keep Raffy around for the rest of my life."

"When I turn around, he cups my face in his hands and he kisses me so deeply that I don't know who is breathing for who, but his mouth and tongue taste like warm honey. I don't know how long it lasts, but when I let go of him, I miss it already."

"But grief makes a monster out of us sometimes . . . and sometimes you say and do things to the people you love that you can't forgive yourself for."

"It's funny how you can forget everything except people loving you. Maybe that's why humans find it so hard getting over love affairs. It's not the pain they're getting over, it's the love."

"When it was over, she gathered him in her arms. And told him the terrible irony of her life.That she had wanted to be dead all those years while her brother had been alive. That had been her sin.And this was her penance.Wanting to live when everyone else seemed dead."

"Don't believe in God. Love the world just the way it is."

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Griggs."Anson Choi feigns surprise. "What's her name?""I didn't actually catch her name,"Griggs continues."Lily,"Raffaela says over her shoulder and this time I give her a sideways look."Great to know that I'm in love with a girl with a cool name.""It's Taylor's middle name,"Raffaela calls back again."

"What's with what you're wearing?"Griggs asks while we stand outside waiting for the others."It's pretty hideous, isn't it?"I say."Don't force me to look at it,"he says. "It's see-through."That kills conversation for a couple of seconds."