Sublime

It would be easier to see her living in a gingerbread house than a convent.

precocious.

the way memories of a lost loved one always smooth and simplify themselves, shedding complexities like scales.

It’s author,

It is worth noting that greatness for Sam and Sadie meant different things. To oversimplify: For Sam, greatness meant popular. For Sadie, art.

Other people’s parents are often a delight.

Nettie and he—a sort of perseverance, a persistent understanding. Where would Nettie have found strength for the unremitting concessions of daily life? She was precipitated from delight to lamentation without logical sequence, as though life were too short; she must cram everything in and perhaps sort it out later.

en croûte,

Her family was a mirror in which she recognized her reflection.