Lisa Schroeder

“I think fear is normal, Cade. Just don't let it win.”

“When you meet someone so different from yourself, in a good way, you don't even have to kiss to have fireworks go off. It's like fireworks in your heart all the time. I always wondered, do opposites really attract? Now I know for sure they do. I'd grown up going to the library as often as most people go to the grocery store. Jackson didn't need to read about exciting people or places. He went out and found them, or created excitement himself if there wasn't any to be found. The things I like are pretty simple. Burning CDs around themes, like Songs to Get You Groove On and Tunes to Fix a Broken Heart; watching movies; baking cookies; and swimming. It's like I was a salad with a light vinaigrette, and Jackson was a platter of seafood Cajun pasta. Alone, we were good. Together, we were fantastic.”

“See that's exactly why I don't want a dog." "Why?" "Because it'll just die." "Everybody dies, Brooklyn." Like that makes it okay or something.”

“Heads: This girlTails: That girl”

“Three boys. Three deaths. One school. We've made the national news. Is out school cursed? Are we a reckless bunch of fools? The media asks questions no one can answer. Kids can't stop crying.”

“I like the memories because they remind meI haven't always beenthis girl,constantly mad or scaredor confused.”

“Memories fall like snowflakes upon my dreams. The snowflakes toss and tumble, each different and yet the same.”

“And what I think is thatwhen you’re completely aloneand deep inside yourselfwith feelings no one else can understand,there really aren’t a hundred places to go. It’s like if I woke up one dayand looked outside and saw purple treesand red grass and green dogs,is there anyone I could tell who would understand? No.There’d be no one.It’s exactly like that. He saw purple treesand red grass and green dogswhile no one else did.   And maybe, he just got tiredof seeing them.”

“And then it hits me like a fast, open-palmed, stinging smack in the face.Having a ghost boyfriend WASweird”

“We have a lot of questions, and we want to understand.Music helps with that .Music helps with everything.”

“It's hard to be happy in the now when you can't stop worrying about the future. What I want is to trust that everything will work out. To believe with all my heart that I'll end up where I belong.”

“He was a character.A character who should still be here. Damn it all to hell.He should still be here.”

“After Lucca died, everything shut down. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't talk. Somehow they got me on the plane and back home.”

“Joy, not sorrow.Laughter, not tears.Life, not death.Love, not blame.”

“Come with me,' Mom says.To the library. Books and summertimego together.”

“And years from now,you may not remember exactly what you ate.But you’ll remember who you ate with.”

“Sometimes you want to remember. And sometimes you need to forget.”

“It brings me back to the moment, and I want to livethe moment with everything I’ve got.”

“I know. You can be fine, and then,out of nowhere,a memory blindsides you.”

“Ill lose myself in the pain. It might not make sense. But it works.”