And I closed my eyes because I wanted to know nothing but her arms.

All I could do is lie there and think about how much her voice changed when she asked me if she was pretty, and how much she changed when I answered.

Writing a novel is a lot like directing a movie because you are creating a world and a tone, you are creating a large canvas and all the details.

deep down...she's a good woman...you should be proud of her." When I told my mom about this, she just looked very sad because he could never say those things to her. Not ever. Not even when he walked her down the aisle.

So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.

Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.

Some kids look at me strange in the hallways because I don't decorate my locker.