He wept because he was afraid now that he could not save Gabriel. He no longer cared about himself

It is so good to have friends who understand how there is a time for crying and a time for laughing, and that sometimes the two are very close together.

Early on I came to realize something, and it came from the mail I received from kids. That is, kids at that pivotal age, 12, 13 or 14, they're still deeply affected by what they read, some are changed by what they read, books can change the way they feel about the world in general. I don't think that's true of adults as much.

It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.

Things seem more when you’re little. They seem bigger, and distances seem farther.

Memory is the happiness of being alone.

There's much more. There's all that goes beyond – all ... that is Elsewhere – and all that goes back, and back, and back. I received all of those, when I was selected. And here in this room, all alone, I re-experience them again and again. It is how wisdom comes. And how we shape our future.