Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness. There's love and emotion trying to express itself, but at the time, it just ends up being awkward.

We'd been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean.

I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own.

I stared at the enormous homes, the landscaping and flower beds immaculate. It was as if dollar bills, instead of leaves, hung from the trees.

We'd been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean. I realized that if we boosted one another, maybe we'd get a little closer.

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch.

We all laced together—a brothel madam, an English professor, a mute cook, a quadroon cabbie, and me, the girl carrying a bucket of lies and throwing them like confetti.