Quotes from Margaret Peterson Haddix

People would rather believe in fairy godmothers and divine intervention than to think that you took charge of your own destiny.

But, really, are there any guys out there who aren't jerks? I don't even know any grown-up men who aren't jerks.

He reaches over a goat that's come between us and grabs my hand. Don't let go! he orders. Harper's hand is dry and soothing, while mine is sweaty with fear. We've never held hands before. I think about what it means in the village when boys and girls only a few years older then Harper and me wander around with their hands clasped together. They're always peering dreamily into each other's eyes, sneaking sky kisses...and soon after, there's a wedding.

But things are so bad, I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't do something.

Staring into the ring of candles—proud that the number of his years finally made a ring, all around the cake

the backyard's tall grass, he had somehow understood the fear in his mother's voice. But on this day, the day they began taking the woods away, he hesitated. He took one extra breath of the fresh air, scented with clover and honeysuckle and—coming from far away—

Luke's dad harrumphed, and paused in the midst of shoveling forkfuls of boiled potatoes into his mouth.

Most people couldn't be rich if they wanted to be honest; most people couldn't be honest if they wanted to be rich.

Why didn't you tell me that evil could be so lighthearted?

I have been thinking-- He chuckled. Always a dangerous thing for a woman to do, he said.

The story begins like so much else,' she says slowly, 'With hope. Hope and dreams and daring...

my parents are very good at bribery.

angles from their former lofty positions in the sky. Their absence made everything look different, like a fresh haircut exposing a band of untanned skin on a forehead. Even from deep inside the kitchen, Luke could tell the trees were missing because everything was brighter, more open. Scarier.

smashed fly or the dead pig, gone stiff in the sun. It made his stomach feel funny even trying. "I don't think it's fair we've got to do Luke's chores now," Luke's other brother

I wouldn't even let your dad talk about . . .

Maybe everyone is just waiting for some else to save them.

Winning isn't everything, Eisenhower said faintly. Sometimes, just knowing your family's safe and healthy and alive is even better.

What were you supposed to do, talking to a hologram of a dead man, when a younger version of that man was still alive? Should you offer condolences? Jordan decided that really wasn't necessary.

is any history really all that ancient?...Doesn't every moment from the past affect the present?

I loved to read when I was a kid, and as soon as I realized that an actual person got to make up the books I loved so much, I decided that that was the job for me.

There's something about each of my books that I'm really proud of, and there's something about each of my books that I cringe over.

I was there laughing and joking with everyone else, but it's like there was some part of me standing back, watching, thinking, "Is this as good as it gets?

Love is a wonderous thing. It moves mountains and stills a baby's cries. It beats inside every human's heart, yet is more precious than gold. It cannot be bought or sold or stolen. It keeps us alive.

It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up.