There ain't nothing good that don't got real bad waiting to follow it.

That's what I want as a reader - I want to be confident that the book will do its job.

Sometimes people need to lie to themselves most of all.

If you ever see a war," she says, not looking up from her clipboard, "you'll learn that war only destroys. No one escapes from a war. No one. Not even the survivors.

And it hurts her, but it's an okay hurt, but it hurts still, but it's good, but it hurts.

There's always beauty, if you know where to look.

Her accent's funny, different from mine, different from anyone in Prentisstown's. Her lips make different kinds of outlines for the letters, like they're swooping down on them from above, pushing them into shape, telling them what to say. In Prentisstown, everyone talks like they're sneaking up on their words, ready to club them from behind.