I think this is an example of how this story is timeless. Being defined by what others do has been a plot device for centuries and no matter how many ages pass, it has always tended to remain true. For example, The Great Gatsby is a timeless book, and although you can go on and on about the symbolism, the character Daisy is someone who is defined not by her character, but by what Tom thinks of her.

I think that this is a message to the readers, but about what the story is going to become. The book starts out with Elizabeth being later in her life and then goes in to how she got there, but I think that when she says this she is sending a message that the story she's about to tell is not a happy one.

There has been this theme so far, that family is not the ones you were born with, but the family you make. There are many other quotes like this throughout what I've read so far, and I think this is a theme that the author is stressing.

Context for this quote: Elizabeth was sexually assaulted by one of her professors, and she stabbed him with a pencil. When the officer asked her if she had any regrets, this is what she said.

I think this is sending a message to the reader about how women were treated back then, and how strange it was for a woman like Elizabeth to exist. Not only that, but I think it says something about how people always tend to blame women, even when it's not their fault, so they take the blame anyway because they'd rather be seen as "dangerous" or "volatile" than be someone who can be walked all over.

I think this adds to the uniqueness of the book. Often, when we read books about fictional characters they are easy to get along with or agree with (even if they are described as "introverted") but in Zott's case, she is actually disliked. She really does have trouble making friends.

One thing that I think really adds to this story is the Uniqueness of Calvin and Elizabeth's relationship. They are both anti-social, know-it-all, (and probably on the spectrum). On one end, Calvin wants to get married and have kids but Elizabeth does not want any of that. Not because she doesn't love him, but because she doesn't believe it matters if they get married or not. Instead of talking about things that couples usually would during that time period, they are literally just best-friends with the label of dating.

One thing that I think is pretty unique to this story is how the author uses other people to tell the story. She tells it through Calvin and Elizabeth's perspective, but switches to the rowers at the lake, or even to their dog! I think it does a really good job of showing what their relationship looks like from an outside perspective, while also getting an inside look at what they are actually going through.

I just thought this quote was a really interesting piece of dialogue, but yet it so perfectly sums up a lot of issues that people have -- a lot of people just try and solve things that are far more complicated than a simple solution.

As the story progresses, it's obvious that he is interested in her, but I think this fits into relatability because of the complexity of the relationship. Relationships aren't just cut and dry, and they usually don't have a definitive start and end like a lot of literature would have us believe. With this relationship, it's clear that it is complex, as both of them try to come to terms or understand their feelings when they've never felt that way about another person.

I think this fits into relatability because a lot of people (women specifically) can relate to the wage-gap, especially American women.

I think this fits into the relatability of these characters because it highlights that they aren't always good at everything, especially not right away. This is relatable to readers because a lot of us have tried, and failed, to succeed in many different sports or activities, and often felt like it would just keep happening over and over until you quit.

This stood out to me, especially because of Calvin's past. He's very protective of the people he loves, but he also has the belief that everyone around him will die. I think this adds to his complexity as a character because despite being a man of science, he is superstitious in this particular way.

I think this should go under Timelessness because it is a character flaw that is easy to understand and does not relate to a time. A character having a lying problem is a plot device that is used in so many pieces of literature and often times I do think that it makes for a more interesting, and well rounded story (especially if you throw a little dramatic irony in there).

During this scene Calvin is explaining that he used to have a pen-pal who stopped writing back after he mentioned he wished his father was dead. This stood out to me because I think it will play a greater part later - maybe the pen-pal was his dad all along? Where did he even find this pen-pal? It sparks so many questions about this situation and really makes me want to keep reading to figure it out.

Calvin was killed in a car accident, and I think this part is relatable in the grief aspect. We've all had to grieve for something, whether it be a pet a family member or a friend, it can almost always appeal to someone's emotional side. Through the next 100 pages we see Elizabeth grieving her late "Husband", and I think it really shows us a different side of her and makes us more empathetic toward her

This REALLY stood out to me because she is talked about how people studying Cancer haven't found a solution for it yet, not because they can't, but because it would cost them money and I just think this is a really good point to make.

Not only that, but pregnancy is timeless in-itself. Still, a lot of people enjoy reading about pregnant women and their struggles with the world (which is kind of strange now that I'm thinking about it), but in 10 years I think it will still remain that way.

This one is more of a personal relatability, but I think other people can also relate to it. Being at the point where even making a to-do list is a chore is one of those low points that a lot of people can relate to, especially when everything gets overwhelming. I know personally that it happens where I can't even make to-do lists because it's too overwhelming so I'm sure other readers can relate to this as well.

"A moment."

"A moment where you are your own priority. Just you." (Pg. 147)

I think this is a message to the readers because it is really good advice. Taking a moment for yourself everyday is just a good mental practice, and I think by including this in the book the author might be trying to get a message across about people and how they view life - they spend so much time worrying about other people or how much work they need to do that they forget to take a moment with themselves. In this way, it makes Elizabeth seem more like a person.

This is from the dogs point of view (he's talking about wanting to protect the baby, Madeline). I marked this because it really stood out to me as something really sweet that Six-Thirty was thinking, and it just made me really happy but also kind of sad.

This really stood out to me because a lot of parents don't realize that their kids do this-pander to their needs and read their feelings. I know this is a learned trait for a lot of kids, especially those coming from harsher households, but It just stood out to me.

I think this is another one of those moments that points to this story being timeless. Religion is something that we've had throughout history, and it's mostly because people want to believe in something, to have hope. And I don't think that's going to chance within the next 10 or even 100 years.

Frask looked back, shocked. "Same," she said limply." (Pg. 178)

I think this goes into adding the element of uniqueness to this story because it's not often that you see one character who hates the other, and then, instead of becoming best friends, they decide to get revenge on the company who stole from them (although in a small way). I just thought it was a really good piece of narrative, the way these two connected (although, what they connected about wasn't good)

Ok so I really think that one unique thing to this book is how big of a role the dog plays in it. Six-Thirty is essentially like every other character - he gives a perspective, and also his thoughts. It's just a really interesting take on it, as I've never seen a dog portrayed that way unless the book is explicitly about the dog itself.

This part of the book really hit me, because it is literally a room full of women, supporting another woman during a time when women were often pit against each other. This is timeless because women supporting each other is something timeless that I think we can all relate to, in some capacity.

"Being taken seriously." (Pg. 323)

Although I hope this is something in the future that all women can have (being taken seriously) I have a feeling that in 10 or so years women and even men will still relate to wanting to be taken seriously.

"I wouldn't say it's bad," walter said. "It's just that it comes with some surprises and not all of them are good." (Pg. 290)

I think this is a message to the readers because a big portion of this book is about Elizabeth being famous, and her struggle with loss through that fame. And while a lot of people love the idea of fame, I think a big message to the reader is that "fame isn't everything." and this quote stands by my claim.

This was when it hit me that the theme wasn't about chemistry, or grief, or being famous - the theme the entire time was about loss. Accepting that loss will happen, but having the strength to move forward and change. Later in this page he goes onto explain that "Chemistry is change", and I think that this is what the book was trying to convey to us the entire time.

"Lessons in CHANGE."

It wasn't just this specific quote that made me realize it, but it was the one that made me jot it down as something unique to the book. Usually in the books I read there is someone right beside the main character, telling them that their gonna be okay and helping them get through things. But the things is that everyone in this book is absolutely miserable, all of the time. It's kind of funny sometimes how horrible these peoples lives are. But I think it overall does add to the uniqueness of the book.

I think this adds to the relatability aspect of the book because this is so relatable. People suck, and there is nothing I can think of that's more relatable than someone pointing that out.

I think this adds to the relatability of the book because a lot of people die. A lot of people experience loss, and sometimes that loss isn't even visible. Grieving for something that you could've had, but was taken away from you is the worst form of grief imaginable, at least from my experience.

I know that other people would be able to relate to this part especially, which is why I think it belongs in relatability.

This really hit me hard and I just had to write it down. I really believe that this was the theme the author was building up to convey. Usually, I'm not the best at detecting themes, but I think this one was so in your face, but you just didn't have the right kind of glasses on until the end of the book. (If you get what I mean)

This quote from Madeline's teacher made me SO mad, and I just had to write it down as something that stood out to me because it made me infuriated. It just goes to show how completely sexist the US was in the 1960s, so much so that something was being criticized that a girl couldn't even control-- something that shouldn't even be a bad thing but is being turned into a bad thing because of a group of boys.