How we cite our quotes: Chapter, Paragraph
Quote #7
As I watch him walk down the hall, I realize this is yet another ripple brought on by Facebook. If Josh hadn't ditched me yesterday to babysit his phone, I wouldn't have gone for a run and Cody would never have seen me, prompting him to approach me today. And not just approach me… invite me to his house! I wonder if this ripple affects my future with Kevin, a man I don't even know yet. (34.28)
Imagine a stack of dominos tumbling to the ground because you accidentally bumped into one of them. That's the future. Which is usually fine, because we don't know what all the dominoes look like. But Emma and Josh get to see possible outcomes for different sets of actions, so now every time they change something about the present, they're aware that a whole new stack of dominoes has been set in motion.
Quote #8
"Even with our ability to look back on that war," he says, "there's no way to know for certain what was lost and what was saved. But that's how it is. History's a b**** when you're in the middle of it." (49.15)
Josh and Tyson are studying history for their exams, and they comment on how confusing it is to think about all the different ways events could have turned out. It's especially confusing when you imagine living in the middle of it. Sounds a lot like Emma and Josh's problem with Facebook, right?
Quote #9
I flip past the next several Looney Tunes drawings and tear out the first blank sheet. With a broken piece of charcoal, I run a broad squiggle down the center of the page and shade a ragged patch to the right. I study it for a moment, and then add an arched horizon at the bottom. This feels like the beginning of something. I'm just not sure what. (53.20)
By drawing something new in an old sketchbook, Josh is trying to create a boundary between his past and his future. Those old drawings represent his childhood with Emma, which he wants to put behind him; the new drawings are refreshing because they're abstract, representing things he's never done.