Some pain shouldn’t be wished away so easily. It has to be dealt with, even embraced.

Most people call it The Book of the Dead,” he told me. “Rich Egyptians were always buried with a copy, so they could have directions through the Duat to the Land of the Dead. It’s like an Idiot’s Guide to the Afterlife.

I have to be careful. My readers are very detail-oriented, and if I make a mistake they'll call me on it.

I tried to think of something to say. Excuse me? Hello? Marry me? Anything would have done.

When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body.

When Luke had descended into the River Styx, he would've had to focus on something important that would hold him to his mortal life. Otherwise he would've dissolved. I had seen Annabeth, and I had a feeling he had too. He had pictured that scene Hestia showed me—of himself in the good old days with Thalia and Annabeth, when he promised they would be a family. Hurting Annabeth in battle had shocked him into remembering that promise. It had allowed his mortal conscience to take over again, and defeat Kronos. His weak spot—his Achilles heel—had saved us all

Why did adults have to be so thick? They always say “tell the truth,” and when you do, they don’t believe you. What’s the point?