Death's gruesome face taunts: soulless eyes, crimson grimace. I really hate clowns.

Tobias asked. "Weird? Weird?" Marco crowed. "The talking bird wants to know if getting information on the location of an alien from a whale, that you've just saved from sharks, by turning into dolphins . . . You're suggesting that's weird?

Especially when you're faced with hard times, you need to remember that life is either tragedy or comedy. For me, that's what the magic is. Life has remarkable, surprising moments that get you through the hard times.

"Give me liberty or give me death." A human named Patrick Henry said that. I wonder if the Yeerks knew before they came to conquer Earth that humans said things like that. I wonder if the Yeerks knew what they were getting into.

With enough time, you can get used to almost anything.

Pain is life. Life is pain.

Yes," he said. "You were strong. You were brave. You were good. You mattered.