Alice was scrutinizing my boring jeans-and-a-T-shirt outfit in a way that made me self-conscious. Probably plotting another makeover. I sighed. My indifferent attitude to fashion was a constant thorn in her side. If I'd allow it, she'd love to dress me everyday―perhaps several times a day―like some oversized three-dimensional paper doll.

Please don't run away. And, um, I'd rather you didn't kick me again either.

The author of the extremely successful Twilight series was rejected by 14 different publishers before the 15th picked up Twilight. What would all the tweens do if Bella and Edward hadn't been brought to life?!

Don't be a baby about this. No tantrums.

You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope.

You haven’t changed at all. I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, red-faced just like always.

You are my life. You're the only thing it would hurt to lose.