Inside me are the real things that give me strength—my thoughts, the small stones of my own choosing. They tumble in my mind, some polished from frequent turning, some new and rough, some that cut.

— Ally Condie

In the end you can't always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go.

— Ally Condie

Isn't it funny how the memories you cherish before a breakup can become your worst enemies afterward? The thoughts you loved to think about, the memories you wanted to hold up to the light and view from every angle--it suddenly seems a lot safer to lock them in a box, far from the light of day and throw away the key. It's not an act of bitterness. It's an act if self-preservation. Furthermore, it's not always a bad idea to stay behind the window and look out at life instead, is it?

— Ally Condie

It could have been different," I say, almost under my breath. If I'd kissed Indie again after she kissed me. If I hadn't known Cassia before I met Indie." But it's not," Indie says, and she's right.

— Ally Condie

It dances on the air for a moment before it falls, too. A fresh gust of wind almost saves it, but a worker catches sight of it and lifts a tube up to suck the paper from the air, to suck the words from the sky. I'm sorry, Grandfather.

— Ally Condie

It is strange how we hold on to the pieces of the past while we wait for our futures.

— Ally Condie

It's been so long since I've let myself feel anger that I don't just feel it. It covers my mouth and I swallow it down, the taste sharp and metal as though I'm gnawing through foilware.

— Ally Condie

It strikes me that perhaps this is part of what we are fighting to choose. Which pain to feel.

— Ally Condie

It was a little thing, a baby tree, but still it tangled with things around it and required care to move. And when she pulled it out, it's roots still clung to Earth from its old home.

— Ally Condie

I want to reach out and grab his hand and hold it to me, over my heart, right where it aches the most. I don't know if doing that would heal me or make my heart break entirely, but either way this constant hungry waiting would be over.

— Ally Condie