Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride

"Maybe the truth was, it shouldn't be so easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder--if not impossible--to lose."

"It didn't make you noble to step away from something that wasn't working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you were the problem, chances were you could also be the solution. The only way to find out was to take another shot."

"That first love. And the first one who breaks your heart. For me, they just happen to be the same person."

"Life shouldn't be about the either/or. We're capable of more than that, you know?"

"It all counts,' Adam said again. 'And the bottom line is, what defines you isn't how many times you crash, but the number of times you get back on the bike. As long as it's one more, you're all good.-pg 325 Along for the Ride"

"You couldn't just pick and choose at will when someone depended on you, or loved you. It wasn't like a light switch, easy to turn on or off. If you were in, you were in. Out, you were out."

"Maybe the truth was, it shouldn't be so easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder--if not impossible--to lose."

"I wondered if emotions were like menstrual cycles, if you get enough women together. Give it time, and everyone was crying."

"It's not always easy being her daughter.' I think,' she said, 'sometimes it's hard no matter whose daughter you are."

"It’s the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth."

"Relationships dont always make sense. Especially from the outside"

"It didn't make you noble to step away from something that wasn't working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you were the problem, chances were you could also be the solution. The only way to find out was to take another shot."

"Failing sucks. But it's better than the alternative.""Which is?""Not even trying."Now he did look at me, straight on. "Life's short, you know?"