"His heart raced, as much from fear as from excitement. Excitement won out. That night he made it with her - a girl. Homos couldn't do that. Ergo, he couldn't be a homo" (p. 3).

"Nelson smiled. He loved every minute of the attention he received for his new do. Unfortunately, the person whom he most wanted to see it was taking geeky advanced-placement tests all that rainy day" (p. 21).

"What good would it do? For every Jack Ransom, there's ten more. He's not the problem, homophobia's the problem" (p. 38).

"He knew telling her would change everything ... He could imagine her disappointment. The way she saw him from that moment on would be different, forever" (p. 74).

"Nelson felt like a baby - shamefully immature, and the one the hated most in his crappy life was to think he was immature" (p. 118).

"As if sensing his sadness, Melissa climbed onto...