I tried to shake some water off. "I got a message from Angel,"i said, scanning the tunnel."She says there's massive danger down here,something too big for us to fix or deal with." "So of course you immediately came down.

Just because life is hard, and always ends in a bad way, doesn't mean that all stories have to, even if that's what they tell us in school and in the New York Times Review. In fact, it's a good thing that stories are as different as we are, one from another.

There's nothing more annoying than cold logic and reason when you've got a good fit going.

Gazzy: "Captain, like the captain of a ship. And then Terror, you know, T-E-R-O-R.

And Max, I've put some scraps in a bowl for your dog," Mom said. "It's on the floor, by the back door." The flock and I went still. Uh-oh, I thought. Total stomped up to me, his glare accusing. "A bowl on the floor!" he seethed. "Why don't you just chain me to a stake in the yard and throw me a bone!

Angel screeched with fury and despair to the empty walls around her. "I'm human, do you hear me? It hurts!

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.