How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
And the fact is I am a romantic. I am in love with the feminine species. It's a shame you only get to pick one. (5.27)
Ughhhhhh, Sutter. (1) There's no such thing as the feminine species. We're all just people. (2) Being a romantic != being a commitment-phobic player.
Quote #2
Because – and this is more confusing yet – they expected me to shift into some gear that my love mobile just couldn't seem to reach. (10.8)
See, it's not exactly that Sutter doesn't want to be a good boyfriend—it's that hereally doesn't understand or know what his girlfriends want. Gee, maybe that's his dad's fault. You think?
Quote #3
She opens her eyes and gives me a warm smile. There's love in it, but not the kind that sticks. (35.54)
Uh, we're not sure how Sutter knows about what kind of love sticks, since we're pretty sure he's never experienced it. Still, a good way to make sure you never end up happy is to reject the "wrong" kind of love.
Quote #4
"It's not so much the idea of marriage," I tell her, "as the concept of forever. That's a concept I just can't get my head around." (39.11)
Aimee—surprise!—is not super thrilled when Sutter says this to her. We get why Sutter struggles with the idea of forever, given that his dad abandoned his family. We don't quite get why a bunch of 17-year-old seem to think they're going to marry their high school sweethearts, but whatevs. (Shmoop thanks our lucky stars that we didn't marry ours, although, truth, we kind of wanted to.)
Quote #5
"But it's going to be different when I get married. I've thought it all out. That's what you have to do. You can't just go into something like that blind." (39.24)
Yessss … you don't want to go into marriage blind. That's true. But, unlike what Aimee seems to think, marriage isn't going to magically solve your relationship problems if you just plan hard enough.
Quote #6
See, I agree with what Cassidy says – once you have sex you'll always be sewn together with an astral thread. (44.15)
Oh boy. Imagine how tangled up Sutter must be. Also notice that it's an astral thread, which conveniently doesn't require Sutter to take on any real-life responsibility towards the girls he sleeps with.
Quote #7
Cassidy bring something beautiful to me from the outside. Aimee brings something beautiful up from the depths of my insides. (50.95)
Ooh, deep thoughts, Sutterman. This is actually a super-mature, responsible thing to realize—which makes it even more of a bummer when he breaks up with Aimee.
Quote #8
"I mean, if you can't believe anyone loves you, how are you ever going to break through that everything's-oh-so-fabulous front of yours and really commit to somebody?" (56.46)
Answer: he's not. Still, Cassidy knows that he's worthy and capable of love—which means that she really gets him—maybe more than anyone else in the book.
Quote #9
She's drenched and bedraggled, but I've never loved anyone as much as I love her right now. That's how I know I'll have to give her up. (62.47)
After their crazy night in Fort Worth, Aimee's a mess—and it's all Sutter's fault. At least, that's his excuse for breaking up with her, but we're not convinced it's selfless. In our book, the selfless act would be growing up a little and becoming the kind of man she believes he can be.
Quote #10
Of course I'd believe someone loved me – if they did. It just seems like that's pretty impossible to know for sure. (65.2)
Okay. By this point in the book, Aimee has (1) completely changed her personality and (2) planned out the rest of her life around Sutter. We're pretty sure he's just choosing not to believe that she loves him.