Tess Oliver Quotes

“This morning the words save me a place in hell had been scrawled in black paint along the water tank’s perimeter. The sight of it had made my morning, but the graffiti had already been covered up. Stuff like that wasn’t tolerated in Raynesville.”

“The monotony of the place could choke you like one of those stupid ties you have to wear to a wedding or funeral. But no matter how hard you dragged at your collar, the place sucked the breath out of you.”

“There was a football team and a baseball team, but the swim team was the school’s claim to fame. Raynesville infants were dropped into one of the public swimming pools before they could crawl.”

“The girls put their names in a bag and each guy pulls out a name. The guy who picks the blank is the emcee. He takes the girls out into the forest, hides them, and ties them to a chair. Their eyes and mouths are covered. The guys then have to go out and find their partner, untie her, and carry her back to the bus. The last couple back loses the Game, and they must face the consequences.”

“Sorry, Hannah. For someone with your brains, it will be a waste of time. You’ve just got to squeeze what you can out of it and wait for college. Then you can show the world how awesome you are.”

“It seems to me that Officer Moore is the one who brought the trouble to town by hiring that construction crew to build his shed. He already knew the guy was trouble last year when he hauled him in for being drunk,” I said trying to control the anger in my voice.

“Amy had said that she hoped there was lime Jell-O in heaven because she couldn’t go an eternity without it. We’d laughed so hard green gelatin sprayed out of our mouths.”

“My fingers trembled as I opened the cover. There would be so much of Amy in this book it would be impossible to get through it without a few major cries. But I had to read it.”

“I needed to find out when it all went horribly wrong. I needed to know if her heart had been so broken by this guy, Jake West, that she’d driven herself off a cliff. None of it seemed liked Amy.”

“But religion helps us to face our own mortality.” I spoke to her like she was the only person in the room. She stared at me through a curtain of razor cut bangs. “I agree. Religion is a wonderful pacifier for people who are afraid of death. Every religion—”

“Amy left me her diary. She was afraid to die young like her mother. She was afraid to die. She talks about it in her diary. That’s why I know she didn’t commit suicide.”

“The charred black spot where Amy’s car had landed sat directly below. It was as if my own jeep had turned against me, breaking down there on purpose to remind me that I was a jerk. Not that I needed reminding.”

“Once I’d realized how this town spread gossip, rumors, and blame like soft butter on hot toast, I’d convinced myself I had to get out of here fast after high school.”

“We’d had three assemblies last year alone, and every time I waited for a giant spotlight to come out of the auditorium ceiling and shine on my seat.”

“I should have been there for her. She was so totally alone. She should have been there for me. I was so totally alone. We should never have been separated.”

“Mostly, I was feeling guilty at the thought of it. I’d been hiding in sleazy motels, and she’d had no one to talk to.”

“Suddenly we had a home, a safe place to be, even a small bank account. It was a foreign feeling for the both of us but especially for me.”

“For most kids, or at least those with normal moms, they walk into a house filled with the smell of chicken frying or potatoes baking. For me, it was nail polish and burnt microwave popcorn.”

“These people had probably always had a home right here in Raynesville. They’d all had the life I’d always dreamed about, stable and predictable.”

“Why did no one warn me that being thin sucked? If this is what real life is then give me back my blubber suit and shove a romance novel in my chubby fingers. I’m going back to friends I can count on like cupcakes, mashed potatoes and chocolate shakes.”