Respect me. Be proud, and if you love me, a little afraid, because love so often looks like fear. We are alike. We are alike.

The worst thing in the world is having to go back to the dark you shook off.

She was not filled up with the sight of him, the way she had seen her sisters fill up, like silk balloons, like wineskins. Instead, he seemed to land heavily within her, like a black stone falling.

A library is never complete. That’s the joy of it. We are always seeking one more book to add to our collection.

You're not in love if you keep your own heart bricked up behind your bones. You're only playing.

Do not ruin today with mourning tomorrow.

Hats change everything. September knew this with all her being, deep in the place where she knew her own name, and that her mother would still love her even though she hadn’t waved goodbye. For one day her father had put on a hat with golden things on it and suddenly he hadn’t been her father anymore, he had been a soldier, and he had left. Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.