Quotes from James Howe

A day can start out ordinary and end up being in the top ten. —Joe Bunch

The way I look at it, love does not necessarily make for a happy ending any more than winning does. What makes for a happy ending is what Addie said all along: freedom. The freedom to be who you are without anybody calling you names. —Bobby Goodspeed

The future is a trickster rabbit, full of surprises. Only the past is predictable.

I never thought I could write this much and now that it's coming to an end, I feel sad that I have to stop, sort of the way you feel at the end of a really good book and you know you're going to miss the main character. But in this case, the main character is me! Myself. Joe (formerly JoDan) Bunch. —Joe Bunch

When you're living through it, though, especially when you are twelve and you think the whole world is changing until you realize it isn't the world, it's you, no piece seems little. It's all so big you think it can kill you. But it doesn't. Which is why the story goes on.

But looking back on the next day, I can tell you that happy endings are possible, even in situations as fraught with complications as this one was.

And that's an even greater love: to love somebody when he's a little...worn at the edges. —Teddy Bear

Dear Skeezie, Today I ran after a boy as he was trying to get away. I tackled him and we both landed in the mud. Do you think I appeared desperate?-Joe Bunch

Sometimes I think it's easier to stand up to the whole school -- or the whole world even -- than it is to stand up to one person, especially if that person really matters to you.

The point is that something I thought was perfect has been broken, and I'm having to find the beauty in what is there instead of what I thought was there. Like this shell. I can either spend all my time wishing it were perfect, trying to imagine it the way it was or might have been, or I can see how beautiful it is just like this.

If getting is the key to your happiness your key will open few doors. If giving is the key to your happiness you will find few doors locked.

When you're living through them, events are nothing more than stuff that happens. You're not thinking about significance. Significance only comes when you look back at your life.

Crying can help, too. People are often afraid to cry because they are told that crying is for babies. Crying does not make you a baby, no matter what anyone says. There are times when people feel so bad that they can't express their feelings in words. At those times, crying helps.

Harold (about max): he looks kinda like a football couch Chester (sarcastically): Yay team rah rah. if he says anything athletic i'll scream max: want to jog? (chester screams).

The point is that being a minority isn't only about the color of your skin or your religion. it's about not fitting in, being on the outside.

Sometimes I wish I were a character in a book and there was a writer out there giving me things to say.

What's wrong with being out there, out there like a star shining in the night when that's the only way the star can be seen? You never tell a star: Hey Tone it down.

Humor is the most precious gift I can give to my reader, a reminder that the world is not such a terribly serious place. There is more than video games and drugs and nuclear threats; there is laughter, and there is hope.

So does being cool mean you get to go around calling other people names?

I became an author because I love words. I enjoyed playing with them when I was a kid, writing stories and plays, and doing whatever I could think to do with words. I kept my love of them growing up and still love to see what they can do.

The future is a trickster rabbit, full of surprises. Only the past is predictable. -Bobby Goodspeed