"The rain watered the world so heavily that he wondered if it might rinse it away. He did not think he would mind if i…"

"Work out what you really want from life."

""There's no shame in giving up," said Adrien. "I give up on all sorts of things." He whipped out his hip flask and of…"

"How he hated gardening. "Mother Nature is a psychopath," he'd told Michelle, "and I won't spend my weekends on my han…"

"She worried about [her son, Seb] often, especially when rising waters were mentioned on the news, or the death of a s…"

""We're vegetarians," explained Hannah, "did I mention that before?" "Er . . . no," said Adrien, a carnivore's disappo…"

"Little things overwhelm you. Sometimes it's as if everything overwhelms you." "You're right," he'd said, wiping tears…"

""How did you get to be so fearless?" Adrien asked Hiroko. "I mean, I wish I could deal with all this as naturally as …"

"Adrien had always considered cider a crude drink, flavoured like a highway underpass. The cider was bitter and salty …"

"She folded her arms, suddenly feeling like she used to at school: the stupid one who answered questions wrong. That w…"