Librarians are hot. They have knowledge and power over their domain...It is no coincidence how many librarians are portrayed as having a passionate interior, hidden by a cool layer of reserve. Aren't books like that? On the shelf, their calm covers belie the intense experience of reading one. Reading inflames the soul. Now, what sort of person would be the keeper of such books?

Boys never believe I can beat them, she told me back then. But I always win in the end.

He wondered whether growing up was learning that most stories turned out to be lies.

As Val jumped down onto the litter-strewn concrete after them, she thought how insane it was to follow two people she didn't know into the bowels of the subway, but instead of being afraid, she felt glad. She would make all her own decisions now, even if they were ruinous ones. It was the same pleasurable feeling as tearing a piece of paper into tiny, tiny pieces.

Our tragedy is that we forget it might be someone else first.

The truth is messy. It's raw and uncomfortable. You can't blame people for preferring lies.

All friendships are negotiations of power.