It reminds me that no embrace will ever feel the same again, because no one will ever be like her again, because she’s gone. She’s gone, and crying feels so useless, so stupid, but it’s all I can do.

Hearing him talk about his mother, about his intact family, makes my chest hurt for a second, like someone pierced it with a needle.

At home I used to spend calm, pleasant nights with my family. My mother knit scarves for the neighborhood kids. My father helped Caleb with his homework. There was a fire in the fireplace and peace in my heart, as I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, and everything was quiet....

I have to face the fear. I have to take control of the situation and find a way to make it less frightening.

People are supossed to aspire to become their fathers, not shudder at the thought.

A son says to his Mother: “Mother, today I fought with my friend.”His Mother says: “Why did you fight with your friend?””Because he demanded something of me, and I would not give it to him.””Why did you not give it to him?””Because it was mine.””My son, you now have possessions, but you do not have...

I breathe in. The water will wash my wounds clean. I breathe out. My mother submerged me in water when I was a baby, to give me to God. It has been a long time since I thought about God, but I think about him now. It is only natural. I am glad, suddenly, that...

I feel like myself, strong and weak at once – allowed, at least for a little while, to be both.

I’ll be your family now,” he says. “I love you,” I say. (….)He stares at me. I wait with my hands clutching his arms for stability as he considers his response. He frowns at me. “Say it again.””Tobias,” I say, “I love you.

I think you’re still the only person sharp enough to sharpen someone like me.

But when I do feel all the strength go out of me, and I fall to my knees beside the table and I think I cry, then, or at least I want to, and everything inside me screams for just one more kiss, one more word, one more glance, one more.

Yeah, well,” I say, “I left Abnegation because I wasn’t selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be.””That’s not entirely true.” He smiles at me. “That girl who let someone throw knives at her to spare a friend, who hit my dad with a belt to protect me-that selfless girl, that’s not you?”…”You’ve...

Okay. Then…I can talk. Ask me something.””Okay.” He laughs shakily in my ear. “Why is your heart racing Tris?”I cringe and say, “Well, I…I barely know you. I barely know you and I’m crammed up against you in a box, Four, what do you think?”…”Maybe you were cut out for Candor,” he says, “because you’re...

Looking away is submissive. Looking [..] in the eye is a challenge.

Siempre hay algo que se aprende, siempre se aprende algo importante

(…) a man encased in ice, his eyes hard and his voice like a frosty exhale.

He descubierto que las personas no son más que una capa tras otra de secretos. Crees que las conoces, que las entiendes, pero sus motivos siempre permanecen ocultos, enterrados en sus corazones.Nunca conocerás a nadie, aunque, a veces, puedes decidir confiar en alguien.

I just wanted to thank you’ he says, his voice low.’A group of scientists told you that my genes were damaged, that there was something wrong with me – they showed you the test results that proved it. And even I started to believe it.’ He touches my face, his thumb skimming my cheekbone, and...

It would be nice if life worked this way, stripping the dirt from our lives and sending us back out into the world clean. But some dirt is destined to lingered.

It’s strange how a word, a phrase, a sentence, can feel like a blow to the head.

Want something else more than success. Success is a lovely thing, but your desire to say something, your worth, and your identity shouldn’t rely on it, because it’s not guaranteed and it’s not permanent and it’s not sufficient. So work hard, fall in love with the writing—the characters, the story, the words, the themes—and make...

That is death – shifting from “is” to “was.

The opinions of others cannot damage you.

I asked you not to do this. You made your decision. These are the repercussions.

Since I was young, I have always known this: Life damages us, every one. We can’t escape that damage. But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other

I pull my foot back again, but Four’s hands clamp around my arms, and he pulls me away from her with irresistible force. I breathe through gritted teeth, staring at Molly’s blood-covered face, the color deep and rich and beautiful, in a way. She groans, and I hear a gurgling in her throat, watch blood...

We could visit him,” suggests Will. “But what would we say? ‘I didn’t know you that well, but I’m sorry you got stabbed in the eye’?

Can you be a girl for a few seconds?””I’m always a girl” I frown.”You know what I mean. Like a silly, annoying girl”I twirl my hair around my finger. “Kay.

Moths,” repeats Will. “You’re afraid of moths?” “Not just a cloud of moths,” she says, “like…a swarm of them. Everywhere. All those wings and legs and…” She shudders and shakes her head.”Terrifying,” Will says with mock seriousness. “That’s my girl. Tough as cotton balls.””Oh, Shut up.

The only reason I haven’t shot you yet is because he’s the one who should get to do it,” I say. “Stay away from him or I’ll decide I no longer care.

…something important is lost if this man has been forced to deny his own nature.

I also remember that my father was one of the people who voted to get the Dauntless out of the factionless sector of the city. He said the poor didn’t need policing; they needed help, and we could give it to them. But I would rather not mention that now, or here. It’s one of...

This is what I chose. This is it.” I look over Robert’s shoulder. The Dauntless guards seem to have finished examining the truck. The bearded man gets back into the driver’s seat and closes the door behind him. “Besides, Robert. The goal of my life isn’t just…to be happy.” “Wouldn’t it be easier if it...

I am proud. It will get me into trouble someday, but today it makes me brave

I feel like someone breathed new air into my lungs. I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent.

It must require bravery to be honest all the time.

You think my first instinct is to protect you. Because you’re small, or a girl, or a Stiff. But you’re wrong.”He leans his face close to mine and wraps his fingers around my chin. His hand smells like metal. When was the last time he held a gun, or a knife? My skin tingles at...

People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.

Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing feels better right now.

How many young men fear that there is a monster inside them? People are supposed to fear others, not themselves. People are supposed to aspire to become their fathers, not shudder at the thought.

It’s strange to see people you don’t know well in the morning, with sleepy eyes and pillow creases in their cheeks

She’s a sailboat and I’m an anchor, pulling us both down.

I understand why she did all those things, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still broken.

No,I just thought I’d shoot bullets out of my nose

Some days are harder than others, but I am ready to live each one of them. I can’t sacrifice myself, this time.

I realize that the decision might be simple. It will require a great act of selflessness to choose Abnegation, or a great act of courage to choose Dauntless, and maybe just choosing one over the other will prove that I belong.

I’m not abnegation, I’m not dauntless, I am Divergent

I feel something hot and violent writhing in my stomach. I want to hurt them. I stare at my eyes in the mirror. I want so, so I will.

I thought that when I spilled one secret, the rest would come tumbling after, but openness is a habit you form over time, and not a switch you flip whenever you want to, I’m finding.

I can pretend to be brave, but I’m not