Sometimes he felt sure that the key to happiness was a poor memory.

She knew whose love she doubted. It wasn't her parents' and it wasn't her friends: It was her own.

My household is, in a nice way, very busy.

Different people were good at different things, Lena mused. Lena was good at writing thank-you notes, for instance, and Effie was good at being happy.

The rules took a while to sort out. Lena and Carmen wanted to focus on friendship-type rules, stuff about keeping in touch with one another over the summer, and making sure the Pants kept moving from one girl to the next. Tibby preferred to focus on random things you could and couldn't do in the Pants --- like picking your nose.

I told him, though, that he better be good to you. When you came along, I said I'd share you, but I told him to remember that you're my sister. I loved you first.

How could you cleanse yourself if you couldn’t forget?