Quotes from Maureen Johnson

He grinned the grin of a presenter on some educational show with a cartoon dog, as if to say, "Come with me if you want to learn.

David had a way of walking - a way that suggested that he belonged anywhere he went. In this, he had his father's manner, which was gross and horrific. But there was something else, something of the rake in a casino movie, who has come in to knock the place over, or an entertainer who might at any point somersault into the center of the room. Or maybe he was just walking in and her brain chemistry was telling her stories.

Some people believe that they are guided by forces, that the universe cuts paths for them through the dense forest of life, showing them where to go.

Paris seemed to make good on the promise it made in every photograph of it she'd ever seen.

The idea that Izzy had a full life that didn't revolve around David had somehow never occurred to Stevie. Love made her stupid.

I just think you get me," she said. "I do," he said, shrugging. "We have a limited emotional vocabulary. We're indoor kids.

A boy and a girl, I forget their names. The two of them seemed to be a pair. The girl had hair like a raven and the boy looked a bit like Byron. They were interested in poetry. They had a little light behind the eyes. The girl asked me about Dorothy Parker

Gators are just something you have to accept where I come from. Most don't go anywhere near the houses, even though there are lots of delicious children and dogs there. Every once in a while, though, an alligator has a lightbulb moment and decides to take a stroll and see the world a bit.

Ellie's mind was an active and colorful place and she decorated her world with its contents

she was color and glitter and chaos

To her, majoring in painting was an act of insanity akin to majoring in photocopying or reheating leftovers

Before she could answer, the waiter sprang at his chance to brush some crumbs from David's chair. He had been hanging around their table like a vulture, waiting for them to eat the last papadum crumb so he could take away the basket. He eyed the last piece sadly, as if it were the barrier between him and eternal happiness. Ginny grabbed it and shoved it in her mouth. The man looked relieved and took the basket but immediately returned to stare mournfully at their water glasses.

Rise and shine, porcupines!

But here I was,quasi-boyfriend saying he wanted to take me on an actual date, and I was just staring at him impassively, like a horse watching a mime pretending to walk against the wind.

Two students had approached Leonard while he was staring at the painting, a boy and a girl. The boy was beautiful - his hair genuinely golden, a color poets wrote about but rarely saw. The girl had a smile like a dangerous question. The first thing that struck Leo was how alive they looked. In contrast to the surroundings, they were bright and flushed.

Things around here have deviated from the usual

The moon was thin like a hook, and the owls were calling. The smell of fall leaves blew on the wind and Hayes was dead.

Stevie said stuff like that all the time and was told she was wrong. David said it once and he got a nod and a compliment. Oh, the magic of dudes. If only they bottled it.

The bones were on the table, naked and chalky. The eye sockets hollow, the mouth in a loose grimace, as if to say. Yep, it's me. Bet you're wondering how I ended up here. It's a funny story actually....

Even if you knew your routine like the back of your hand, a checklist was still important.

We kind of wanted the going-out, shopping, prom-going type, and we got this weird, creepy one, and we love it but what is it talking about, ever? Sometimes Stevie felt bad for her parents. Their idea of what constituted interesting was so limited. They were never going to have as much fun as she did.

Campers screamed when they swam and played and sometimes simply for the sake of screaming.

would rather eat bees than share her tender inner being with anyone else—she didn't even want to share it with herself.

And then the surface beneath us just went away