Taylor Jade

“There was this one weekend, a million summers ago, when I sat on the shore drinking a frozen limeade, and I realized the only thing I wanted to look at was the way the sun hit the girls swimming in the lake.
The problem has always been this: When I look at you, I taste lime, and I see light on water.”
― Casey McQuiston, I Kissed Shara Wheeler

“This is how it goes. This is how it works. These are the rules. But here is the secret. You are free. You're not one of those fools. There is no bubble except the one they put you in.”
― Dawn Kurtagich, And the Trees Crept In

“Listen to me. Listen very carefully. You’re trapped. Right now you’re trapped. You’re stuck to the bottom of someone’s shoe. You’re walking around in yourlife, like your own little isolation bubble, following their footprints, thinking: This is it. This is me. This is MY SELF. This is how it goes. This is how it works. These are the rules. But here is the secret. You are free. You’re not one of those fools. There is no bubble except the one they put you in. But it’s made of soap, of air—of nothing at all. Only, you’re taught that it’s indestructible—no way of getting through that barrier. And you can pop it with your little finger. You could pop it with your breath. You could blow on it and it would fizzle say.
You are free.
You can do what you want.
When you want.
How you want.
On your time.
You can destroy yourself, kill yourself—
And then get up and walk away.
You are free. No but. No or. No either.
You are an indestructible machine.
You are magnificent.
You can steal; you can cheat.
And you can lie. Be a liar.
I am.”
― Dawn Kurtagich, And the Trees Crept In

“When Shara looks at her like that, all airy and sly, it makes Chloe think of the first time her mama brought home an icebox pie. It was strawberries and cream, her mom’s favorite, and the whole thing seemed to be a feat of mechanical physics. It didn’t make sense how the strawberries held effortlessly together when you sliced it, or how the cloud of meringue sat weightless on top. She remembers studying the layers from the side and having the inexplicable thought, This is a Shara Wheeler kind of pretty.
God. Shall I compare thee to an icebox pie?
Couldn’t be gayer if she tried.”
― Casey McQuiston, I Kissed Shara Wheeler