Denise

“We all have an unsuspected reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to the test.”
― Isabel Allende, Island Beneath the Sea

“There was nothing wrong with fire … as long as you didn’t stand too close. Something to keep in mind.”
― Becca Fitzpatrick, Hush, Hush

“Nothing can supply the place of books. They are cheering or soothing companions in solitude, illness, affliction. The wealth of both continents would not compensate for the good they impart.”
― William Henry Channing

“The Great Gatsby's my favorite book," he says. "F. Scott Fitzgerald dedicated it to Zelda."

"His wife?" I say.

"Yeah. His crazy-ass wife who he had no business loving that much," he says, giving me a loaded look. "You know what their joint epitaph says? It's a quote from the book... Their kid picked it for them."

I shake my head. "What's it say?"

His eyes close halfway as he recites, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
― Rick Yancey, The 5th Wave