And we did, and it wasnโt bad. We ate the whole stupid can, we were so hungry. And when it started to get dark you pointed to the sky, and told me there was a star for every thing you loved about me.โ Iโm gasping, feeling as though I am about to drown; Iโm reaching for him blindly, grabbing at his collar.
Lauren OliverSuicide. A sideways word, a word that people whisper and mutter and cough: a word that must be squeezed out behind cupped palms or murmured behind closed doors. It was only in dreams that I heard the word shouted, screamed.
Lauren OliverNow, after so many years, I understand what the Coldness was and where it came fromโthis sense that everything is lost, and worthless, and meaningless.
Lauren OliverStep on a crack , you'll break your mama's back. Step on a stone, you'll end up all alone. Step on a stick, you're bound to get the Sick. Watch where you tread, you'll bring out all the dead. - A common children's playground chant, usually accompanied by jumping rope or clapping.
Lauren OliverThat was what her parents did not understandโand had never understoodโabout stories. Liza told herself storied as though she was weaving and knotting an endless rope. Then, no matter how dark or terrible the pit she found herself in, she could pull herself out, inch by inch and hand over hand, on the long rope of stories.
Lauren Oliver