Anyone who knew Violet well could tell she was thinking hard, because her long hair was tied up in a ribbon to keep it out of her eyes. Violet had a real knack for inventing and building strange devices, so her brain was often filled with images of pulleys, levers, and gears, and she never wanted to be distracted by something as trivial as her hair.

Tell me what it is, or prepare to eat harpoon.

Twenty-six,” you said. “One for each day we’ve been together, Min.”Somebody oohed. Somebody shushed them. “And I hope that someday I’ll do another something stupid and I’ll have to say it a million times because that’s how long it’ll be, together with you, Min. With you.

Arguing with somebody is never pleasant, but sometimes it is useful and necessary to do so.

An Overall Feeling of Doom that One Cannot Ever Escape no Matter What One Does

They were almond cookies, although they could have been made of spinach and shoes for all I cared. I ate eleven of them, right in a row. It is rude to take the last cookie.

Frustration is an interesting emotional state, because it tends to bring out the worst in whoever is frustrated.