When Aristotle, a loner, meets Dante at the swimming pool, the two strike up an unparalleled relationship. Dante is everything Aristotle wishes he were: articulate, smart, and self-confident. Together they begin questioning the secrets of the universe and navigating the painful journey from adolescence into adulthood. Sharing books, dreams, a near-fatal accident, and a year apart, the two discover the power of their friendship and develop an inseparable bond.

Here are some of my favorite lines from this breathtakingly beautiful book.

“Words were different when they lived inside of you.”

“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone's hand.”

“I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn't get--and never would get.”

“Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.”

“To be careful with people and with words was a rare and beautiful thing.”

"I thought it might be a great thing to be the air. I could be something and nothing at the same time. I could be necessary and also invisible. Everyone would need me and no one would be able to see me.”

“Sometimes, you do things and you do them not because you're thinking but because you're feeling. Because you're feeling too much. And you can't always control the things you do when you're feeling too much.”

“Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we read poetry? Why do we cry when we see a painting? Why is there a riot in the heart when we love? Why do we feel shame? What is that thing in the pit of your stomach called desire?”

“And it seemed to me that his face was a map of the world. A world without any darkness. Wow, a world without darkness. How beautiful was that?”

“Maybe we just lived between hurting and healing.”