Quotes from Laurie Halse Anderson

two opposites of rape To have sex is human. To make love, Divine.

One guy's crap is another guy's fertilizer

When I was little I had no idea what she'd been through. She used to say Affection is a sign of weakness which totally baffled me because she should be both affectionate and strong. I'd give anything to understand all of the layers of tragedy that forced her shell to become so hard.

You've fallen in love with me. You want to have my babies. We'll get a team of horses and a covered wagon and we'll journey to South America and raise goats.

writing rage-poems by the sea pen, hands, claws stained with ink until the bottle runs dry and then I write in blood, spit, and fire lantern's light in the mirror scattering the dark

How did she do all of these things? She was bold, brave, stubborn, and smart. And Sarah Hale had a secret weapon… a pen.

Maybe we'll run away to South America after the funeral and raise goats

THE MAN THAT SAYS SLAVES BE QUITE HAPPY IN SLAVERY—THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO BE FREE—THAT MAN IS EITHER IGNORANT OR A LYING PERSON. —MARY PRINCE, BORN 1778, THE FIRST WOMAN TO WRITE ABOUT HER LIFE IN SLAVERY

She wrote in tiny letters that she was not outcasted for the exact same reason that Melinda got outcasted. But outcasting is hurtful, no matter who you are or what happened.

Superheroes work the hardest when things get tough.

You're not dead, but you're not alive, either. You're a wintergirl, Lia-Lia, caught in between the worlds.

Melinda's trick is looking hard in the mirror, Absolving herself and cracking open doors to the next place. But the girl at that school, so haunted, smashed all the reflections boarded up the windows and bolted the doors, forever stuck at 15 years old judged to serve a life sentence for what they did.

We're all born to fight, but few are ever trained. Instead, they tell us Be nice.

You were born with the seeds of your talent, the ability to observe the world around you and weave piece of it into a story. I believe that most—if not all—people are born with these seeds. What separates the writers from the non-writers is that the writers actually sit down and, you know… write.

I open books, but the stories are all locked up and I don't know the magic words.

What am I afraid of? Why can't I even want to get better? When am I me and how do I know that and who would I be if I did what they want? How did I get like this?

I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through. --- I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

It's like she thinks she's your mother or something.

You'd be shocked at how many adults are already dead inside, walking around with no clue, waiting for a heart attack or cancer to finish the job. When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time. It's the saddest thing I know.

You can only be brave if you're scared.

The nasty voices are always on call.

I am on top of the highest mountain. The icy ground is shaking, an earthquake, the world beneath me opening up with fire, steel arms ready to pull me down. I have to move. I can't stay here anymore. I throw myself down the mountain and open my mouth.

I believe that you've created a metaphorical universe in which you can express your darkest fears.

We're all afraid to talk about what stares at us from the dark.