To keep up appearances, I stomp my room and slam the door.

This is not our fight', the old man said. 'British or American, that is not the choice. You must choose your own side, find your road through the valley of darkness that will lead you to the river Jordan. . . Look hard for your river Jordan, my child. You'll find it.

If I run or breathe too deep, the cheap stitches holding me together will snap, and all the stickiness inside will pour out and burn through the concrete.

Each reader has to find her or his own message within a book.

I wish America would stop judging and criticizing teens and instead, try to understand the battles they have to fight every day.

Grandma frowned and yelled something in Russian. She could have been saying, 'Open up, your best friend is here.' On the other hand, it could have been, 'America is a great country because of canned ravioli.

He says a million things without saying a word. I have never heard a more eloquent silence.