I grew up in a house full of women: my mother, grandmother, three sisters, and two female cats. And I still have the buzz of their conversations in my head. As an adult, I have more female friends than male ones: I just love the way that women talk.

"I feel like, like pudding," Iggy groaned. "Pudding with nerve endings. Pudding in great pain."

Basically, I have two speeds.... Hostile or smart-aleck. Your choice.

Homework is a term that means grown up imposed yet self-afflicting torture.

Max - you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. I held my wings steady, coasting for a long, long way on a warm updraft. It was like floating on a cloud, the best feeling you can imagine. I wish you could try it with me. Maybe next time. You know, Voice, I thought finally, my friends are my world.

Excuse me? I'm alive too.

I was always a good student, but I didn't read that much until I was 18 and I was working my way through college.