We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on maps are silly.

Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.

This is what comes of having a heart, even a very small and young one. It causes no end of trouble, and that’s the truth.

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

Oh, I will be cruel to you, Marya Morevna. It will stop your breath, how cruel I can be. But you understand, don’t you? You are clever enough. I am a demanding creature. I am selfish and cruel and extremely unreasonable. But I am your servant. When you starve I will feed you; when you are sick I will tend you. I crawl at your feet; for before your love, your kisses, I am debased. For you alone I will be weak.

Some girls have to go to college to discover what they are good at; some are born doing what they must without even truly knowing why. I felt a hole in my heart shaped like a dark door I needed to guard.

You know how we can be about things which sparkle and shine. We imagine they will put back something of what has been lost.