You were a stone wall, a fort in high, unreachable trees, an island, my own island, that no boat could reach.

I don't get why prom is like a mini-wedding these days...No one should spend that kind of money for a high school dance.

I thought I might cry, the way you do when someone gives you some kindness when you most need it but when it seems the most surprising thing.

Becoming a YA author was actually a very lucky accident. When I wrote the Queen of Everything, I thought it was a book for adults.

It was one of those times you feel a sense of loss, even though you didn't have something in the first place. I guess that's what disappointment is- a sense of loss for something you never had.

Most of our parents wanted the best for us, I knew, but we also wanted the best for them.

If time heals all wounds, and a book can hold a person's entire life, then you can speed up the process with a pulp time warp.