My mother always said that I was born out of a bottle of vinegar instead of born from a womb and that she and my father bathed me in sugar for three days to wash it off. I try to behave, but I always go back to the vinegar.

I am standing here in the shed, and I'm waiting to see if my seeds are going to poke out ofthe dirt. I don't know if it's too early to look for signs of life or if, this time, winter has claimed my family for good.

All of them are men, not a girl amongst them unless you count Tommy Falk because his lips are so pretty.

Of course he was a part of what I hated about myself. Everything was a part of what I hated about myself. It wasn't really personal.

Happiness isn't something this island yields easily; the ground is too rocky and the sun too sparse for it to flourish.

I said uselessly, "Sam, don't go." Sam cupped my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were yellow, sad, wolf, mine. "These stay the same. Remember that when you look at me. Remember it's me. Please.

I grew up with boys of all kinds - I have two brothers, and I was in a bagpipe band for several years.