Believe in yourself up here, and it will make you stronger than you could ever imagine.

— Sarah Dessen

Best Friends. And I thought of what she had done all the millions of times I cried to her, collapsing at even the slightest wounding of my heart or pride. So I reached over and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her, and held my best friend close, returning so many favors all at once....

— Sarah Dessen

But all I could think of was how when nothing made sense and hadn't for ages, you just have to grab onto anything you feel sure of.

— Sarah Dessen

But as I lay there, it only seems like silence filling my ears. And the thing was, it was so freaking loud.

— Sarah Dessen

But as long as something is never even started, you never have to worry about it ending. It has endless potential.

— Sarah Dessen

But I didn't. I didn't say anything, if only because I had no idea how to respond to such an overture. If my experience with friends was sparse, what I knew about boys-other than a competitor for grades or class rank-was nonexistent

— Sarah Dessen

But if everything was always smooth and perfect, you'd get too used to that, you know? You have to have a little bit of disorganization now and then. Otherwise, you'll never really enjoy it when things go right.

— Sarah Dessen

But I knew what it said. That I could be imperfect, but only so much. Human, but only within limits. And honest, to her or to myself, never.

— Sarah Dessen

But in the real world, you couldn't really just split a family down the middle, mom on one side, dad the other, with the child equally divided between. It was like when you ripped a piece of paper into two: no matter how you tried, the seams never fit exactly right again. It was what you couldn't see, those tiniest of pieces, that were lost in the severing, and their absence kept everything from being complete.

— Sarah Dessen

But it's important to acknowledge that while we may make mistakes, in the long run, we may also learn from them.

— Sarah Dessen