“So youre a reader, My mom sighs, as if somehow this elevates Isabel to yet another realm of perfection.”

“Wait. Is a real, live adult person actually asking me details about the games I play? This is unheard of.”

“It seems like the best escape games come from Japan for some reason. It makes me proud.”

“I cant believe I thought this was going to be boring. This is great!”

“At this moment, I know that the answer has to be yes. I am defeated. By my own father. How Darth Vader.”

“I turn back to the Archers, who dont look like the same species as us. Do they even sweat, these people?”

“Accept the fact that girls squeal when they're happy or confused or excited or scared or because they just saw a certain boy in line.”

“I want to tell him that it's just a stupid car, but bits of me are scattered all over town; the graveyard, school, Cassie's room, the motel, and standing in from of the sink in my mother's kitchen....”

“If we want to raise children who will remain faithful to Christ and His Church, they need to see fathers on their knees in prayer.”

“Children betrayed their parents by becoming their own people.”

“But marrying within one's own family can get monotonous. One has heard all the same family stories, knows all the jokes and all the same recipes. No novelty.”

“She took comfort in the familiarity of his smell, knowing that if she lost all her possessions and her home, at least she would have her family.”

“Forget Batman: when I really thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wanted to be my dad.”

“The unrequited love of ones' only living offspring has its own particular slow acid burn”