I don't get a chance to be funny with the thrillers. I like to be funny, and I think I am really funny. So with 'Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life', it was fun to let loose.
James PattersonYou know, I guess I just don't like to talk a lot about sad things. Now you know my flaw. What good does it do to talk about sad things in the past?
James PattersonYou're children. Don't you want a home, a family?" "With, like, vitamin-fortified cereal and educational television?
James PattersonThat was the funniest thing I'd heard in days. You're kidding, right? PLEASE tell me you have a stronger motive for me than 'fair is fair.' Life isn't FAIR, Dean....Nothing is fair, EVER. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I need to help you because FAIR IS FAIR? Try, 'I need you to help me so I won't rip out your spine and beat you with it.' I MIGHT respond to that. MAYBE.
James PattersonGazzy: (Hugging himself and jumping up and down) "I'm brilliant! I'm a genius! I can blow up the world!" Max: (Raises her eyebrows) Gazzy: "Not that I would want to, of course," (coughs)
James PattersonTell me again what we're doing here," I said, running a continuous scan of our surroundings. Fang popped some Cracker Jack into his mouth. "We're here to watch manly men do manly things." I followed Fang's line of sight: He was watching the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who were not doing manly things, by any stretch of the imagination.
James PattersonFang," I said, my voice breaking. "Just live, okay? Live and be okay." With no warning, I leaned down and kissed his mouth, just like that. "Ow," he said, touching his split lip, then he and I stared at each other in shock.
James PattersonI saw the first episode of "The Walking Dead," and that's all I've seen. I thought it was good. I used to love zombies when I was little, but I don't like them the way I used to. I'm not knocking the show.
James PattersonMax?โ said the Gasman. โAre those, um, rats?โ Lovely. โYes, those do appear to be either rats or mice on steroids,โ I said briskly, trying not to shriek and climb the walls like a girly-girl.
James PattersonAnd Flock Rule Number Two is, Don't argue with Max or you'll live to regret it." I spun and stomped out to the clearing, turning back for one last jab at Dylan. "And by the way, you clearly DON'T know me better than Fang does. Do you see Fang arguing with me? No, you do not." Fang rolled his eyes.
James PattersonHe's gonna be fine," I confirmed. Can we see him?" Iggy asked. Ig, I hate to break it to you, but you're blind.
James PattersonWe went back to the weird Institute building. At night there was a lot more activity. Erasers coming in non-stop. Nice cars, nice clothes, nice smug faces (that I wanted to smash!). -Fang's Blog
James PattersonI wonโt lie to youโit was hilarious. Yes, we were in trouble, yes, this was a disaster, and so one and so forth, but I have to say, seeing those upturned faces, the looks, was bout the best thing that happened to us since weโd come to New York.
James PattersonAm I tough? Am I strong? Am I hard-core? Absolutely. Did I whimper with pathetic delight when I sank my teeth into my hot fried-chicken sandwich? You betcha.
James PattersonThe instructor stared at me with cold, cut-me-no-slack determination, then got into a fighting stance, holding one hand out, beckoning me. "I saw that movie too!"I said."It was like the coolest movie of all-" He launched himself at me. That was when his day really went downhill.
James PattersonHe grinned at me so unexpectedly I forgot to flap for a second and dropped several feet. "You looove me," he crooned smugly. Holding his arms out wide, he added, "You love me this much.
James PattersonA lot of writers fall in love with their sentences or their construction of sentences, and sometimes that's great, but not everybody is Gabriel Garcia Marquez or James Joyce. A lot of people like to pretend that they are, and they wind up not giving people a good read or enlightening them.
James PattersonWe probably looked like starving orphan children. Hey! We were starving orphan children.
James Patterson"You were designed to be very smart, Max," she told me. "We electrically stimulated your synaptic nerve endings while your brain was developing." "And yet I still can't program my DVD player," I said.
James PattersonWhen I write I pretend I'm telling a story to someone in the room and I don't want them to get up until I'm finished.
James PattersonThe weird, weird thing about devastating loss is that life actually goes on. When you're faced with a tragedy, a loss so huge that you have no idea how you can live through it, somehow, the world keeps turning, the seconds keep ticking.
James PattersonIf you're in the room, I want to be next to you. If you're gone, I think about you. You're who I want to talk to. In a fight, I want you at my back. When we're together the sun is shining. When we're apart, everything is in shades of gray.
James PattersonGlaring at the Gasman, ter Borcht said, โYour time is coming to an end, you pathetic failure of an experiment. Vhat you say now is how you vill be remembered.โ Gazzyโs blue eyes flashed. โThen you can remember me telling you to kiss my-โ โEnough!โ ter Borcht said.
James PattersonI stood my ground. "You evil scientist are all the same--evil. Count me out." Fang and I brushed past Mr. God and walked quickly but smoothly to the exit. It was barely noon, and I'd already made a huge enemy. Dang, I'm good.
James PattersonYour mind creates your reality. If you expect nothing, you open up the universe to give you options. If you expect the worst, you usually get it.
James PattersonYou're just here for the ride. For the incredible, indescribable Maximum Ride. --Max's Voice
James PattersonWhy was the blind guy playing with matches, you ask? Because he's good at it. Anything to do with fire, igniting things, exploding things, things with fuses, wicks, accelerants . . . Iggy's your man. It's one of those good/bad things.
James PattersonI guess I write four or five hours a day, but I do it seven days a week. It's very disciplined, yes, but it's joy for me.
James PattersonGazzy, man, jeezum!" Fang exclaimed. "What the heck have you been eating for God's sake?" That was a smoke bomb!" Gazzy defended himself. "Not even i could fill this whole flippin' house!
James PattersonDonโt ever leave me again,โ I said in a tiny voice. I wonโt,โ he promised into my hair, sounding most un-Fang-like. โI wonโt. Not ever.โ And just like that, a cold shard of ice that had been inside my chest ever since weโd split up-well, it just disappeared. I felt myself relax for the first time in I donโt known how long. The wind was chilly, but the sun was bright, and my whole flock was together. Fang and I were together. Excuse me? Iโm alive too.โ Iggyโs plaintive voice made me pull back.
James PattersonAri felt like, Hellooo, I have wings! I turn into a wolf! Blending is out is out of the question!
James PattersonDid you know that wasnโt me, the other Max?โ I asked. โYeah.โ โWhen?โ โRight away.โ โHow?โ I persisted. โWe look identical. She even had identical scars and scratches. She was wearing my clothes. How could you tell us apart?โ He turned to me and grinned, making my world brighter. โShe offered to cook breakfast.
James Patterson