If you had weak eyes, they needed exercise to get strong. Glasses were like crutches. They prevented people with feeble eyes from seeing the world on their own.

She had her addictions and one of them was reading.

Mom told us we would have to go shoplifting. Isn't that a sin?" I asked Mom. Not exactly," Mom said. "God doesn't mind you bending the rules a little if you have a good reason. It's sort of like justifiable homicide. This is justifiable pilfering.

I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes.

She was developing what Mom called a bit of a sarcastic streak.

Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten, you'll still have your stars.

No child is born a delinquent. They only became that way if nobody loved them when they were kids. Unloved children grow up to be serial murderers or alcoholics.