Honey, have you seen your sister?” She’s on Jupiter, Mom.

Sometimes we do not hear the Whisperer even at her loudest because she speaks in our own voice, the one we most often discount.

The Spear in the Other’s heart is the spear in your own: you are he.

A little science. A little magic. A little chicken soup.

"Virtue," he said. "The real thing. It's not some kind of cuddly teddy bear you can keep on the shelf until you need a hug. It's dangerous, which is why it makes people so nervous. Virtue has its own agenda, and believe me, it's not always yours. The word itself means strength, power. And when it gets loose, you'd better watch out." "Something bad might happen..." "Impossible. But possibly something painful."

Something always happens. You still have to promise stuff anyway. If you have to work to make the promises true... it's like a spell. You have to say the words every time you want the results.

What teens will realize is always a mystery to me. I'm still realizing so many things myself, very belatedly, that it seems unwise to think I have any right to be showing people things in hopes that they'll realize them.