I was shy, but I stood up in front of the class and I gave my report.I was reporting on books that I didn't want to read. I was inventing books that I didn't want to read.

I didn't know I was really a writer until I read it in the New York Times. And then I thought, "Oh my god, maybe I can really do this". That was a review of "Margaret."

[Writing] totally changed my life. It gave me my life. Everything opened up.

Like my mother said, you can't go back to holding hands

Something will be offensive to someone in every book, so you've got to fight it.

Without peanut butter, I might starve.

Some characters become your friends for life. That's how it was for me with Betsy-Tacy.