All the things that were shown in early studies to be good for longevity—happy marriages, healthy bodies—are ours to have. We live long, good lives. We die on our eightieth birthdays, surrounded by our families, before dementia sets in. Cancer, heart disease, and most debilitating illnesses are almost entirely eradicated. This is as close to perfect as any society has ever managed to get.

— Ally Condie

And I'll tell her that I don't want my life to be samples and scraps. A taste of everything but a meal of nothing.

— Ally Condie

And it is strange that absence can feel like presence.

— Ally Condie

Any other questions?"" Just one," I say. "What color are your eyes?" I want to know what he thinks, how he sees himself - the real Ky - when he dares to look." Blue," he says sounding surprised, "they've always been blue."" Not to me."" What do they look like to you?" he says puzzled, amused. Not looking at my mouth anymore, looking into my eyes." Lots of colors," I say. "At first I thought they were brown. Once I thought they were green..."" What are they now?" he asks. He widens his eyes a little, leans closer, lets me look as long and deep as I want." Well?"" Everything," I tell him, "They're everything.

— Ally Condie

At first, that's who I was. I wanted to know more about this boy who lives among us, but who never truly speaks... But now I feel like finding out about him is one of the ways I found out about myself. I did not expect to love his words. I did not expect to find myself in the.

— Ally Condie

At first when the rain fell from the sky so wide and deep it smelled like sage, my favorite smell went up on the plateau to watch it comet see the gifts it always brought but this rain changed from blue to black and left nothing.

— Ally Condie

Because I feel no anger toward my mother. Only loss, and loss is a feeling you can’t fight your way out of as easily.

— Ally Condie

Being a teen is past for me. Worrying about the world and my place in it is not.

— Ally Condie

Blue is the most common eye color in Aria Province, but there is something different about his eyes, and I'm not sure what it is. More depth? I wonder what he sees when he looks at me. If he seems to have depth to me, do I seem shallow and transparent to him?

— Ally Condie

But if you were matched," I say softly, "What do you think she'd be like?"" You," he says, almost before I've finished. "You,

— Ally Condie