Quotes from Beth Goobie

You can make a decision with your head. It still takes your heart a while to catch up with it.

Were you real if nobody noticed you?

This becomes the pattern of being alive: cut apart, heal together, cut apart, heal together. Everything breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, but I'm still able to call them all in, know their names, keep track of them.

Everyone watched Maddy. Not outright – the glances came at her like light dancing off a mirror ball, moments of eyes flicking across her face and gone. It was almost as if the class were on a collective joyride at her expense: the more miserable she felt, the more excited their smirks became.

Have you told anyone?" asked Kara. "Your parents?" "Not yet," said Maddy. "I wanted to finish this first. I had to." "Yeah," said August. "If I had something like that hanging around my gut, I'd want to get it out too. It's like the end of the world." "And the beginning," said Maddy.

And in the distance a toad farted ominously.

I don't know about you and your brother. I don't give a shit about your goddamn brother. That's your problem, and I'm not eating your pain.

He wasn't even going to get them to apologize to you!" Kara fumed. "He was just going to ignore you, like you weren't hardly even involved. But you told him, Maddy! You told him just fine!" "Yeah?" asked Maddy, glancing at her. "Yeah," said Kara, her voice punching the air.