I was beginning to understand.My grandmother's love was cold because she was afraid of things;that was why everything had to be perfect.

The evening had turned sweet and blue.

I just finished Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad," which I think is a work of genius.

When I write for teens, I feel I can cut through everything and get to the bare bones. I can get straight into the emotional world of the character.

Some stories stayed with you even when you wanted to forget them.

What did you see?' he asked then. Nothing,' I told him. 'Because nothing is what you wanted me to see, though the man on the table might disagree.

I know who you are in your heart,' Andres said. 'That's all that matters.' And that was it. That was the moment. Now I knew how I would feel if I ever lost him. That was how you knew love. My mother had told me that. All you had to do was imagine your life without the other person, and if the thought alone made you shiver, then you knew.