People say that you always have to tell the truth. But they do not mean this because you are not allowed to tell old people that they are old and you are not allowed to tell people if they smell funny or if a grown-up has made a fart. And you are not allowed to say, 'I don't like you,' unless that person has been horrible to you.

Sometimes we get sad about things and we don't like to tell other people that we are sad about them. We like to keep it a secret. Or sometimes, we are sad but we really don't know why we are sad, so we say we aren't sad but we really are.

A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC kudos to a drama, or when they're wheeled on in a tokenistic way without any real involvement in the plot.

All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I'm not meant to call them stupid, even though this is what they are.

From a good book, I want to be taken to the very edge. I want a glimpse into that outer darkness.

Science and literature give me answers. And they ask me questions I will never be able to answer.

Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well.