No," I say firmly. "If you ever doubt anything here, if you ever not know what to think or who to trust, you trust Todd, okay? You remember that.

Viola blows out a thoughtful air. "My dad used to say, 'There's only forward, Vi, only outward and up.'" "There's only forward," I repeat. "Outward and up," she says.

That's another thing about Noise. Everything that's ever happened to you just keeps right on talking, for ever and ever.

A book cannot apologize for what people may think it should be. It has to be authoritative.

I'll do it, Todd," I whisper. "I'll come with you." And he doesn't say anything, just squeezes my hand harder and brings it up to his face like he wants to breathe me in.

Doing what's right should be easy. It shouldn't be just another big mess like everything else.

I promised to keep on going but maybe keep on going means coming back first.