Sometimes a book is better than it ever had a right to be because of the history the reader brings to the reading and because of the methods educators use to bring a particular story alive.

But the truth doesn't need to be known, or believed, to be true.

...racist thought and action says far more about the person they come from than the person they are directed at.

Certainly working with teens keeps me up to date with language and with certain kinds of thinking. I often feel like I have to go back to that 17-year-old Chris Crutcher, and that forms the core voice. I can draw on teens from 1964 to 2001 to find a part of the voice I need.

Once a thing is known,it can't be UNknown.

And I think if you're going to be with somebody, you owe it to them to show yourself.

If you think your life sucks, it probably does. Do something about it.