Monday Quotes: From Best Friends to More

This week for our Monday Quotes, we’d like to highlight books that feature a “friends to more” romance. We won’t apologize for being particular fans of those story lines, because while the instant chemistry is fun, there’s something really profound about friends who realize slowly or suddenly that their feelings are more than platonic. Sometimes it only takes the friends a season or a year to get together, but other times the friendship spans basically a lifetime (or, OK, all of middle and high school) before the characters finally admit they’re in love. Here are some favorite books in which friendship blossoms into love.

“Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell

Ever since the first day they’d met, Eleanor was always seeing him in unexpected places. It was like their lives were overlapping lines, like they had their own gravity. Usually, that serendipity felt like the nicest thing the universe had ever done for her.

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

“Ah no!” said Ron, staring horror-struck at the parchment. “Don’t say I’ll have to write the whole thing out again!”
“It’s okay, we can fix it,” said Hermione, pulling the essay toward her and taking out her wand.
“I love you, Hermione,” said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily. Hermione turned faintly pink, but merely said, “Don’t let Lavender hear you saying that.”

“Better Off Friends” by Elizabeth Eulberg

 Silence fell between us. This was a common occurrence whenever we’re alone. When you’re comfortable with someone, you don’t need to always fill the void with noise. I liked it when we would just be.

“On the Fence” by Kasie West

 We can’t let boys define how we feel about ourselves. You have to know who you are before you should let any boy worth anything in.

“Skinny” by Donna Cooner

 “I loved you when you were three hundred and two pounds, and I love you now.” -Rat

“Why We Broke” Up by Daniel Handler

The thing with your heart’s desire is that your heart doesn’t even know what it desires until it turns up.

“Shadow & Bone” (The Grisha Trilogy) by Leigh Bardugo

 “I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I’d catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I’d seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I’d realize that you weren’t there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I’ve risked my life for you. I’ve walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I’d do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don’t tell me why we don’t belong together,” he said fiercely.

“The Sea of Tranquility” by Katja Millay

I know at that moment what he’s given me and it isn’t a chair. It’s an invitation, a welcome, the knowledge that I am accepted here. He hasn’t given me a place to sit. He’s given me a place to belong.

“Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell

 She smiled, and her eyes started to drift downward.
“Cather…”
Back up to his eyes.
“You know that I’m falling in love with you, right?”

 

 

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