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But If We Are To Remain A Great Empire, We Must Have A Greater Understanding Of The Hearts And Minds Of Others.

-Libba Bray

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But If We Are

Libba Bray

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But If We Are To Remain A Great Empire, We Must Have A Greater Understanding Of The Hearts And Minds Of Others.

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I Will Never, Ever Drink Whiskey Again. From Now On, It's Strictly Sherry.

In Our Travels, We Have Come Across Many Equations--math For Understanding The Universe, For Making Music, For Mapping Stars, And Also For Tipping, Which Is Important. Here Is Our Favorite Equation: Us Plus Them Equals All Of Us. It Is Very Simple Math. Try It Sometime. You Probably Won’t Even Need A Pencil.

She Holds Up A Finger. "i'm Getting To It. Don't Rush A Girl In The Middle Of Her Exposition.

The World Expected Girls To Pluck And Primp And Put On Heels. Meanwhile, Boys Dressed In Rumpled T-shirts And Baggy Pants And Misplace Their Combs, And Yet You Were Suppose To Fall At Their Feet? Unacceptable.

Agent Jones Held Sinjin’s Face In His Hands. “i’m Going To Make Balloon Animals. People Need Balloon Animals.” “how Right You Are, Strange Delusional Man,” Sinjin Said.

Or Perhaps It Is Some Combination Of Spirit And Desire, Love And Hope, Some Alchemy That We Each Possess And Can Put To Use, If We First Know Where To Look Without Flinching.

The World Is Only As Fair As You Can Make It. Takes A Lot Of Fight. A Lot Of Fight. But If You Stay In Here, In Your Little Cave, That's One Less Fighter On The Side Of Fair.

We Create The Illusions We Need To Go On. And One Day, When They No Longer Dazzle Or Comfort, We Tear Them Down, Brick By Glittering Brick, Until We Are Left With Nothing But The Bright Light Of Honesty. The Light Is Liberating. Necessary. Terrifying. We Stand Naked And Emptied Before It. And When It Is Too Much For Our Eyes To Take, We Build A New Illusion To Shield Us From Its Relentless Truth.

And For A Moment, I Understand That I Have Friends On This Lonely Path; That Sometimes Your Place Is Not Something You Find, But Something You Have When You Need It.

What Happened To The Winner" Adina Asked. "she Tripped." "and The First Runner-up?" Miss Michigan Cracked Her Knuckles. "she Tripped, Too.

He Wanted To Hit Something Or Someone. He Wanted To Burn Up The Whole World, Heal It, And Burn It Down Again.

Its So Daunting To Walk Into A Classroom Or A School Auditorium. Its Like The Worlds Weirdest Blind Date. I Know All The Students Are Thinking, Who Is This Tool Standing Up In Front Of Us?

She Hadn’t Meant To Get Trapped In A Conversation. That Was The Trouble With Offering Help To Old People.

I Wouldn’t Expect You To Get It, Daisy. You Don’t Look At Anything Besides Photoplay—and Even Then Somebody’s Gotta Explain The Pictures To You.” Daisy’s Mouth Hung Open In Outrage. “well, I Never!” “yeah, That’s What You Tell All Your Fellas, But The Rest Of Us Aren’t Buying It. Go Away, Now, Daisy. Shoo, Little Fly!

One Can Never Go Back. One Always Has To Move Forward.

Amen, Sister, ... All Apologies To Tom Cruise.

I Thought I Was Having An Existential Crisis, But It Was Nothing. Please Don't Tailgate: Body In Trunk.

There Is Never Any Turning Back Gemma. You Have To Go Forward. Make The Future Yours.

We Don't Look At Each Other Anymore. Not Really. Not Since I Pulled Him From That Opium Den. Now When I Look At Him, I See The Addict. And When He Looks At Me, He Sees What He Would Rather Not Remember. I Wish I Could Be His Adored Little Girl Again, Sitting At His Side.

...i Took Advanced Powerpoint Last Semester. You Guys Are Always Misunderestimating Me. I'm Totally Ready To Handle The Big Stuff.

What Happens If Your Choice Is Misguided, You Must Try To Correct It But What If It’s Too Late? What If You Can’t? Then You Must Find A Way To Live With It.

You're Quite Tall.' Just What A Girl Wants To Be Reminded Of.

Dead Bodies Are Such Trouble,” Evie Said With A Little Sigh, And Mabel Had To Turn Her Head Away So As Not To Laugh.

Evie Was So Nervous That She Downed Her Cocktail In Two Stiff Swigs, Then Refilled Her Glass. Henry Arched An Eyebrow. “a Pro, I See.” “what Else Is There To Do In Ohio?

Brought To You By The Corporation: In Your Homes And In Your Pants.

You Are Unique, And This Is A Beautiful, Beautiful Thing, Grasshopper.

Did God Ever Cry Over His Lost Angel, I Wonder?

We Create The Illusions We Need To Go On.

Cash Or Check?” He Said Cheekily. Even The Dullest Ohio Girls Knew That Bit Of Lingo: Kiss Now Or Kiss Later? “bank’s Closed, Pal.

We're In English Class, Which For Most Of Us Is An Excruciating Exercise In Staying Awake Through The Great Classics Of Literature. These Works - Groundbreaking, Incendiary, Timeless - Have Been Pureed By The Curriculum Monsters Into A Digestible Pabulum Of Themes And Factoids We Can Spew Back On A Test. Scoring Well On Tests Is The Sort Of Happy Thing That Gets The School District The Greenbacks They Crave. Understanding And Appreciating The Material Are Secondary.

Why Is It That Some Secrets Can Drown You While Some Pull You Close To Others In A Way You Never Want To Lose?

...i Think We Should Find Some Kind Of Shelter; A Cave Or Something." "i Don't Want To Do That! What If There's Like, A Creature Living In The Cave?" Tiara Said. "seriously, I Saw This Show Once Where These People Were Stranded On An Island And There Were These Other People Who Were Sort Of Crazy-slash-bad And There Was This Polar Bear Creature Running Around." "what Happened?" Miss Ohio Asked. "i Don't Know. My Parents Got Divorced In The Middle Of Season Two And We Lost Our Tivo.

Why Do Girls Always Feel Like They Have To Apologize For Giving An Opinion Or Taking Up Space In The World? Have You Ever Noticed That?" Nicole Asked. "you Go On Websites And Some Girl Leaves A Post And If It's Longer Than Three Sentences Or She's Expressing Her Thoughts About Some Topic, She Usually Ends With, 'sorry For The Rant' Or 'that May Be Dumb, But That's What I Think.

They Have Money And Position And Ann Has None.it's Amazing How Often You Can Be Right As Long As You Have Those Two Things Working In Your Favor.

There Were Few Things Worse Than Being Ordinary, In Evie’s Opinion. Ordinary Was For Suckers.

What Do You Feel? I’ve Never Been Asked This Question Once. None Of Us Has. We Aren’t Supposed To Feel. We’re British.

Beauty, Grace, And Charm My Foot. It's A School For Sadists With Good Tea-serving Skills.

I've Been Poked And Prodded In Places I'd Always Prided Myself On Keeping Untouched For That One Special Doctor Who Gives Me A Ring And A Promise Someday.

Memphis—it’s Just A Bird. Birds Fly Around, Brother. It’s What They Do. It’s Not Following You, And It’s Not A Sign. Unless You Really Did Give It Candy And Flowers, In Which Case You Are One Strange Brother.

Sometimes I See Things, I Think. Out Of The Corner Of My Eye, Taunting Me, And Then It’s Gone. And Dreams. Such Horrible Dreams. What If Something Terrible Happened To Me? What If I Am Damaged?" The Rain Is A Cool Kiss On My Sleeve As I Link My Arm With Hers. "we’re All Damaged Somehow.

On The Bowery, In The Ornate Carcass Of A Formerly Grand Vaudeville Theater, A Dance Marathon Limps Along. The Contestants, Young Girls And Their Fellas, Hold One Another Up, Determined To Make Their Mark, To Bite Back At The Dreams Sold To Them In Newspaper Advertisements And On The Radio. They Have Sores On Their Feet But Stars In Their Eyes.

But Aren't Many Gardens Beautiful Because They Are Imperfect?...aren't The Strange, New Flowers That Arise By Mistake Or Misadventure As Pleasing As The Well-tended And Planned?

Did They Find Something Wanting In You, Gemma, At The Party? You Didn’t Speak Too Freely Or Behave…strangely?” I Grew Claws And Bayed At The Moon. I Confessed That I Eat The Hearts Of Small Children. I Told Them I Like The French.

Everyone Seems To Want More Form Me. I Am A Thoroughly Disappointing Girl Around. I Shall Wear A Scarlet 'd' Upon My Bosom For All To See So That They Will Know Not To Raise Their Expectations.

Just Once, She'd Like To Be The Exciting One, The Girl Somebody Wanted.

No One Can Live In The Light All The Time.

But What Was The Point Of Living So Quietly You Made No Noise At All?

When I Dream, I Dream Of Him.

People See What They Want To See When They Need To.

I Know Because I Read. Might I Suggest You Try It?

Could I Have A Sloe Gin Fizz, Without The Gin?" "what's The Point Of That, Miss?" The Waiter Said. "tomorrow Morning," Mabel Said.

But...you Could Have Whatever You Wished." "exactly," He Says, Nuzzling My Neck. "but," I Say, "you Could Turn Stones To Rubies Or Ride In A Fine Gentleman's Carriage." Kartik Puts His Hands On Either Side Of My Face. "to Each His Own Magic," He Says And Kisses Me Again.

Did You Hear? You Are Free." Yessss. Choice. It Is A Fine Thing. And I Choose To Take You Back, Most High.

Truth Casts A Spell Of Its Own.

Evie Hadn’t Always Felt That Way. For A Year After James Had Died, She’d Cupped His Half-dollar Pendant Between Her Pressed Palms And Prayed Fervently For A Miracle, For A Telegram That Would Say Good News! It Was A Terrible Mistake, And Private James Xavier O’neill Has Been Found, Safe, In A Farmhouse In France. But No Such Telegram Ever Arrived, And Whatever Possible Faith Might Have Bloomed In Evie Withered And Died. Now She Saw It As Just Another Advertisement For A Life That Belonged To A Previous Generation And Held No Meaning For Hers.

If This Were A Movie, I Would Bust A Secret Move So Fierce The Entire Place Would Be Razed To The Ground. I'd Finish With Something Snappy Like "and Don't Forget My Soda, Punk" While I Strolled Off Into The Night.

In A World Beyond This One, That River Goes On Singing Sweetly, Enchanting Us With What We Want To Hear, Shaping What We Need To See In Order To Keep Going. In Those Waters, All Disappointments Are Forgotten, Our Mistakes Forgiven. Gazing Into Them, We See A Strong Father. A Loving Mother. Warm Rooms Where We Are Sheltered, Adored, Wanted. And The Uncertainty Of Our Futures Is Nothing More Than The Fog Of Breath On A Windowpane.

When The Music Is Over, She Keeps Her Head Down Till She Finds Her Seat Again, And I Wonder How Many Times Each Day She Dies A Little.

You Must Remember, My Dear Lady, The Most Important Rule Of Any Successful Illusion: First, The People Must Want To Believe In It.

Because You Don't Notice The Light Without A Bit Of Shadow. Everything Has Both Dark And Light. You Have To Play With It Till You Get It Exactly Right.

Gemma, You See How It Is. They've Planned Our Entire Lives, From What We Shall Wear To Whom We Shall Marry And Where We Shall Live. It's One Lump Of Sugar In Your Tea Whether You Like It Or Not And You'd Best Smile Even If You're Dying Deep Inside. We're Like Pretty Horses, And Just As On Horses, They Mean To Put Blinders On Us So We Can't Look Left Or Right But Only Straight Ahead Where They Would Lead. Please, Please, Please, Gemma, Let's Not Die Inside Before We Have To.

Pastoralia By George Saunders. Possibly My Favorite Book. Its One Of The Weirdest Books Ive Ever Read. If Monty Python And Thomas Pynchon Had A Love Child, And It Was Raised By Frank Zappa On A Weird Commune, That Would Be This Book.

There's A Lot About Discovering Who You Are And How Difficult That Is. And It Never Stops.

Discovering Who You Are

Didn't You Have Any Sadistic Nannies Who Told You These Tales To Keep You Quiet And Well Behaved At Night? Heavens, What's To Become Of The Empire If Governesses Have Lost Their Touch For Scaring The Wits Out Of Their Girls?

- 'music Opens Your Soul, Makes You Ready.' - 'ready For What?' - He Smiles Big. 'exactly.

What If Evil Doesn't Really Exist? What If Evil Is Something Dreamed Up By Man, And There Is Nothing To Struggle Against Except Out Own Limitations? The Constant Battle Between Our Will, Our Desires, And Our Choices?

They See Her Differently Now, As Somebody. And Isn't That What Everyone Wants? To Be Seen?

Any Librarian Or Scholar Will Tell You: Close Is Not The Same As Accurate.

Might. Is There Any Opiate More Powerful Than That Word?

It Occurs To Me That Cricket Is Not The True Sport In London - Gossip Is.

They Misspelled 'party.' How Evil Genius Can They Be?

Everyone's Dying. A Little, Every Day. Make It Count.

And When It Comes, Her Kiss Is Like Something Not So Much Felt As Found.

We're All Strangers Connected By What We Reveal, What We Share, What We Take Away--our Stories. I Guess That's What I Love About Books--they Are Thin Strands Of Humanity That Tether Us To One Another For A Small Bit Of Time, That Make Us Feel Less Alone Or Even More Comfortable With Our Aloneness, If Need Be.

I Have Done What They Expected Of Me. I Have Curtsied For My Queen And Made My Debut. This Is What I Have Anticipated Eagerly For Years. So Why Do I Feel So Unsatisfied? Everyone Is Merry. They Haven't A Care In The World. And Perhaps That Is It. How Terrible It Is To Have No Cares, No Longings. I Do Not Fit. I Feel Too Deeply And Want Too Much.

I Don't Have Time To Feel Sorry For Myself. I've Got To Think.

The Corporation Would Like To Apologize For The Preceding Pages. Of Course, It's Not All Right For Girls To Behave This Way. Sexuality Is Not Meant To Be This Way - An Honest, Consensual Expression In Which A Girl Might Take An Active Role When She Feels Good And Ready And Not One Minute Before. No. Sexual Desire Is Meant To Sell Soap. And Cars. And Beer. And Religion.

I'm An Oddity Of One, My Strangeness Too Complicated To Explain Or Share.

Maybe Girls Need An Island To Find Themselves. Maybe They Need A Place Where No One's Is Watching Them So They Can Be Who They Really Are

One Could Argue That It's Romantic To Die For Love. Of Course, Then You're Dead And Unable To Take That Honeymoon Trip To The Alps With All The Other Fashionable Young Couples, Which Is A Shame.

We Have Work To Do If You Are Not To Be A Total Failure Like High-waisted, Acid-wash Jeans.

The Sun Has Blessed You," Sarita Used To Say. "look How He Has Left His Kisses On Your Face For All To See And Be Jealous." "the Sun Loves You More," I Said, Rubbing My Hands Over Her Dry Arms, The Color Of An Aged Wine Gourd, And She Laughed. But This Is Not India And We Are Not Prized For Our Freckles Here. The Sun Is Not Allowed To Show His Love.

J.t Woodland, Known As “the Cute One” In The Corporation’s Seventh-grade Boy Band, Boyz Will B Boyz. Due To The Success Of Their Triple-platinum Hit, “let Me Shave Your Legs Tonight, Girl,” Boyz Will B Boyz Ruled The Charts For A Solid Eleven Months Before Hitting Puberty And Losing Ground To Hot Vampire Boyz.

Beggin' Your Pardon, Miss, But I Was Told You Be The One To Help Me Cross On To The Next World." "who Told You This?" His Eyes Widen. "a Fearsome Creature With A Head Full Of Snakes!" "you Musn't Fear Her," I Say, Taking The Man's Hand And Leading His Toward The River. "she's As Tame As A Pussycat. She'd Probably Lick Your Hand Given The Chance." "didn't Seem Harmless," He Whispers, Shuddering. "yes, Well, Things Are Not Always As They Appear, Sir, And We Must Learn To Judge For Ourselves.

Why Does Everyone Want To Own Me?" Pippa Mumbles. She's Got Her Head In Her Hands. "why Do They All Want To Control My Life -- How I Look, Whom I See, What I Do Or Don't Do? Why Can't They Just Let Me Alone?" "because You're Beautiful," Ann Answers, Watching The Fire Lick Her Palm. "people Always Think They Can Own Beautiful Things.

But We Can't Go Back. We Can Only Go Forward.

Scoring Well On Tests Is The Sort Of Happy Thing That Gets The School District The Greenbacks They Crave. Understanding And Appreciating The Material Are Secondary.

The Man In The Shop Peered Disapprovingly At Evie Through The Glass. She Pumped Her Arms And Legs Up And Down In Imitation Of A Marching Band, Gave The Man A Salute, And Continued Her Meandering Walk To The Museum.

There Are Times When One Friend Requires The Blind Faith Of Another.

It's Only His Thumb Brushing Slowly Across The Lower Edge Of My Lip, But It's As If Time Slows And The Sweep Of That Thumb Below My Mouth Takes Forever. It Is No Spell That I Know Of, But It Holds Such Magic, I Can Scarcely Breath. He Pulls His Hand Away Fast, Aware Of What He's Done. But His Touch Lingers.

There Is A Time In Every Life When Paths Are Chosen, Character Is Forged. I Could Have Chosen A Different Path. But I Didn’t. I Failed Myself.

When She Can't Bring Me To Heal With Scolding, She Bends Me To Shape With Guilt.

She Never Utters A Sound Even When She's Crying, And That Makes Me A Little Sad. Doesn't Seem Right. When You Cry, People Should Hear You. The World Should Stop.

He Took Comfort In The Neon Signs, The Wild Strands Of Jazz Creeping Out Of Clubs Whenever Happy Swells Of People Pushed Through The Doors In Their Finery.

Who The Heck Is Don Quick-oats?

To Live Is To Love, To Love Is To Live.

You Are Absolute Angels Of The First Order. If I Were Pope, I’d Canonize You.” “the Pope Would Probably Love To Turn A Cannon On You!

People Will Believe Anything If It Means They Can Go On With Their Lives And Not Have To Think Too Hard About It.

Will You Punish Me Forever?

Travel Opens Your Mind As Few Other Things Do. It Is Its Own Form Of Hypnotism, And I Am Forever Under Its Spell

Wanna Rock You, Girl, With A Butterfly Tunic. / No, I'm Not Gay, I'm Just Your Emo Enuch. / Gonna Smile Real Shy, Won't Cop A Feel, / 'cause I'm Your Virgin Crush, Your Supersafe Deal. / Let Those Other Guys Keep Sexing. / You And Me, We Be Texting / 'bout Unicorns And Rainbows And Our Perfect Love. / Girl, We Fit Together Like A Hand In A Glove. / Now I Don't Mean That Nasty, Tell Your Mum Don't Get Mad. / I Even Wrote 'you're Awesome' On Your Maxi Pads.

Don't You? If You Keep Them From The Magic, They Will Never Know What Their Lives Could Be.' They Will Remain Protected,' Asha Insists. No, 'i Say. 'only Untested.

These Are Hard Times. The World Hurts. We Live In Fear And Forget To Walk With Hope. But Hope Has Not Forgotten You. So Ask It To Dinner. It's Probably Hungry And Would Appreciate The Invitation.

We Have Traveled Through Space And Time. We Have Been Many Places. Visited Many Worlds. And There Is Good News: The Acoustics Everywhere Are Terrific.

I Hate High Heels. Walking In High Heels For Eight Hours A Day Should Be Forbidden By The Geneva Convention.

A Guy's Gotta Live, You Know, Gotta Make His Way And Find His Meaning In Life And Love, And To Do That He Needs Coffee, He Needs Coffee And Coffee And Coffee.

Yes, Go On. Leave. You're Always Coming And Going. The Rest Of Us Are Stuck Here. Do You Think He'd Still Love You If He Knew Who You Are? He Doesn't Really Care—only When It Suits Him.

Retribution Is A Dog Chasing Its Tail.

The Dull Pain Of Truth Weights My Soul, Pulling It Under. I Am Left Hopelessly Awake.

They Kept The Lie Going, And The People Loved It.

How Do You Invent A Religion?” Evie Asked. Will Looked Over The Top Of His Spectacles. “you Say, ‘god Told Me The Following,’ And Then Wait For People To Sign Up.

Books Are, At Their Heart, Dangerous. Yes, Dangerous. Because They Challenge Us: Our Prejudices, Our Blind Spots. They Open Us To New Ideas, New Ways Of Seeing. They Make Us Hurt In All The Right Ways. They Can Push Down The Barricades Of ‘them’ & Widen The Circle Of ‘us.

What Makes A Girl A Girl? What Makes A Guy A Guy? Do You Have To Be What They Want You To Be? Or Do You Stop And Listen To That Voice Inside You? I Know Who I Am. I'm Petra West. And I'm A Girl. You Want Me To Sleep Somewhere Else, Fine. Whatever. But I'm Not Going To Pretend To Be Somebody I'm Not. I've Done Enough Of That.

Beneath The Skin, There Is Fear. Pain. Remorse. Yearning. Desire. A Fierce Longing For Power. All Of This. We Are Joined. It Is As If We Live In The Center Of A Great Storm. Around Us The World Of The Realms Revolves Like A Giant Kaleidoscope, Images Refracted Again And Again. So Many Worlds! So Much To Know.

I Changed My Mind. I Don’t Want To Be An Inveshtigative Journalist Anymore. I Want To Be A Professional Rum Drinker.” “there Are People Who Do That,” Duff Said. He’d Barely Sipped His Rum. “really? What Do You Call Them?” “alcoholics.

I Can See His Pain, See It In The Way He Runs His Fingers Through His Hair, Over And Over, And I Understand What It Costs Him To Hide It All.

Kartik Places A Sovereign In The Lady's Cup, And I Know That It's Likely All He Has. "why Did You Do That?" I Ask. He Kicks A Rock On The Ground, Balancing It Nimbly Between His Feet Like A Ball. "she Needed It." Father Says It Isn't Good To Give Money To Beggers. They'll Only Spend It Unwisely On Drink Or Other Pleasures. "she Might Buy Ale With It." He Shrugs. "then She'll Have Ale. It Isn't The Pound That Matters; It's The Hope...i Know What It's Like To Fight For Things That Others Take For Granted.

Do You Think They Missed Him Terribly When He Fell? Did God Cry Over His Lost Angel, I Wonder?

You Know What Else Is Hot?" Said A Nameless Blonde As She Put Her Arm Around The One Black Girl. "what?" "bisexuals." "totally. Well, Not Like Real Bisexuals Who Are Just Sort Of Your Everyday People, But, Like, The Kind Of Bisexuals You See In Magazines Wearing Nothing But Body Paint And Kissing Both Boys And Girls To Promote A New Single." "totally, Totally Hot.

Because There's Nothing Wrong With You... That Can't Be Fixed.

Murder Mysteries

She Was Too Much—for Zenith, Ohio. She’d Tried At Times To Make Herself Smaller, To Fit Neatly Into The Ordered Lines Of Expectation. But Somehow, She Always Managed To Say Or Do Something Outrageous—she’d Accept A Dare To Climb A Flagpole, Or Make A Slightly Risqué Joke, Or Go Riding In Cars With Boys—and Suddenly She Was “that Awful O’neill Girl” All Over Again.

I've Never Done Acid, Finding It Hard To Go Willingly To A Place That Could Be Frightening, Hellish, And Totally Beyond My Control. A Place Much Like High School.

Your Mother And I Do Not Approve Of Drinking. Have You Not Heard Of The Eighteenth Amendment?” “prohibition? I Drink To Its Health Whenever I Can.

She Bestowed The Blessing Of A Wild Girl's Lips.

I'm Going To Eviscerate You And Leave Your Organs On A Pike In The Yard As A Warning To Those Who Wear Large Jewelry.

No Person Has Ever Held All The Power. There Must Be A Balance Between Chaos And Order, Dark And Light. With The Temple Magic Bound To You, The Realms Are No Longer In Balance. The Power Could Change You... And You Could Change The Magic.

I Hate This Place,” Tiara Whimpered. “it’s Super Creepy. Like A Haunted Chuck E. Cheese’s Where The Games All Want To Kill You And You Never Get Your Pizza.

The Desperation Meeting The Silence With Its Unmasked Wish.

So Much Of The Literature We Had To Read For High School English Class Was Filled With Victimized, Tragic, Symbolic Women Who Spurred The Plot Forward With Their Inevitable Shunning/death/shunning-followed-by-pregnancy-followed-by-death Timelines.

I Run After Her, Not Really Giving Chase. I’m Running Because I Can, Because I Must. Because I Want To See How Far I Can Go Before I Have To Stop.

You're Special. I'm Special. The Whole World's Special, So Don't You Forget It. The Universe Wants Us All To Be Happy, Full Of Smiles And All That Stuff, All That Stuff That's Happy And Smiley. So Get Happy, Happy, Happy Right Now! Get Happy, Happy, Happy Right Now! Get Happy, Happy, Happy Right Now!

You Can’t Blame A Fella For Kissing The Prettiest Girl In New York, Can You, Sister?” Sam’s Grin Was Anything But Apologetic. Evie Brought Up Her Knee Quickly And Decisively, And He Dropped To The Floor Like A Grain Sack. “you Can’t Blame A Girl For Her Quick Reflexes Now, Can You, Pal?

As A Kid, I Imagined Lots Of Different Scenarios For My Life. I Would Be An Astronaut. Maybe A Cartoonist. A Famous Explorer Or Rock Star. Never Once Did I See Myself Standing Under The Window Of A House Belonging To Some Druggie Named Carbine, Waiting For His Yard Gnome To Steal His Stash So I Could Get A Cab Back To A Cheap Motel Where My Friend, A Neurotic, Death-obsessed Dwarf, Was Waiting For Me So We Could Get On The Road To An Undefined Place And A Mysterious Dr. X, Who Would Cure Me Of Mad Cow Disease And Stop A Band Of Dark Energy From Destroying The Universe.

I'm A Librarian, Not An Oracle.

The Vicar, Whose Name Is Reverend Waite, Leads Us In Prayers That All Begin With 'o Lord' And End With Our Somehow Not Being Worthy-sinners Who Have Always Been Sinners And Will Forever More Be Sinners Until We Die. It Isn't The Most Optimistic Outlook I've Ever Heard But We're Encouraged To Keep Trying Anyway.

I Hear They Feed You In Sing Sing,” Evie Muttered. “three Squares A Day.” “evangeline,” Will Said With A Sigh. “charity Begins At Home.” “so Does Mental Illness.

Nobody Wants To Be Themselves. That's Why There's Tv. -ephigenia.

People Tend To Think That Hate Is The Most Dangerous Emotion. But Love Is Equally Dangerous,” Will Said. “there Are Many Stories Of Spirits Haunting The Places And People Who Meant The Most To Them. In Fact, There Are More Of Those Than There Are Revenge Stories.

A Gentle Breeze Catches In The Branches Then And I Hear It, Soft And Low, A Murmured Prayer--gem-ma, Gem-ma--and Then The Leaves Bend Down And Trail Delicate Fingers Across My Cold Cheeks.

The Dark Does Not Weep For Itself Because There Is No Light. Rather, It Accepts That It Is The Dark.

A Pair Of Blue Noses On The Next Bench Glared Their Disapproval At Evie’s Knee-length Dress. Evie Decided To Give Them A Real Show. She Hiked Her Skirt And, Humming Jauntily, Rolled Down Her Stockings, Exposing Her Legs. It Had The Desired Effect On The Blue Noses, Who Moved Down The Platform, Clucking About The “disgrace Of The Young.” She Would Not Miss This Place.

I Should Never Be Left Alone With My Mind For Too Long.

Women Who Have Power Are Always Feared.

Free The Snow Globes!

I'm Just Saying It's Not All Sand Castles And Ninjas.

The Hand You Hold The Longest Is Your Own.

You Want To Know What Pain Is? Try Running Out Of Advil When You've Got A Category Five Period. I've Had Cramps That Would Make Grown Men Beg For A Bullet Between The Eyes." - Jennifer, "beauty Queens

Discomfortwear™, Shapewear Designed To Eliminate Rills, Ripples, And Muffin Tops. In Some Cases Known To Eliminate Circulation And Breathing. If You’re Not Uncomfortable, It’s Not Discomfortwear™.

I Wonder How Many Times Each Day She Dies A Little.

We All Do Things We Desperately Wish We Could Undo. Those Regrets Just Become Part Of Who We Are, Along With Everything Else. To Spend Time Trying To Change That, Well, It's Like Chasing Clouds.

Power Changes Everything Till It Is Difficult To Say Who Are The Heroes And Who The Villains.

How Do People Stay In Love, Anyway? Is It A Choice? Or Is It Like Those Plants We Studied In Biology That Mutate Into Something New And Totally Different But Are Still Part Of The Same Plant Family?

For Once, Evie Didn’t Know What To Say. She Hadn’t Really Thought Of Her Uncle As Very Human. He Was More Like A Textbook Who Occasionally Remembered To Put On A Tie. But It Was Clear That He Was, Indeed, Human, With A Deep Wound Named Rotke.

Board The Cows! We've Come To Enslave Your Marigolds.

In Each Of Us Lie Good And Bad, Light And Dark, Art And Pain, Choice And Regret, Cruelty And Sacrifice. We’re Each Of Us Our Own Chiaroscuro, Our Own Bit Of Illusion Fighting To Emerge Into Something Solid, Something Real. We’ve Got To Forgive Ourselves That. I Must Remember To Forgive Myself. Because There Is A Lot Of Grey To Work With. No One Can Live In The Light All The Time.

Pippa's Laugh Is Bitter, Tinged With Tears. 'ha! Why Do Girls Think Being Beautiful Will Solve Every Problem? Being Beautiful Just Creates Problems. It's A Misery. I Wish I Were Someone Else.

She Knew What It Was To Wait For Someone Who Would Never Come Home. She Knew That Grief, Like A Scar, Faded But Never Really Went Away.

You Are Working Up To Mr. Fantastic Fiction Levels Of Zombie Expert, Which Is Like Playing Guitar Hero On Some Level That Actually Melts The Guitar Controller, Burning Your Fingers With Searing Hot Plastic Till You Scream In Pain. Only With Words. And Zombies.

Any Book That Can Help You Survive The Slings And Arrows Of Adolescence Is A Book To Love For Life; 'the Catcher In The Rye' Did Just That, And I Still Do Love It.

The Wolf Was At The Door. His Shadow Spilled Into The Room, Taking It Over.

I Stare At The Pile Of Discarded Remnants And Think Of My Mother. Did She Touch That Pillar There? Does Her Scent Still Linger In A Fragment Of Glass Or A Splinter Of Wood? A Terrible Emptiness Settles Into My Chest. No Matter How Much I Go About Living, There Are Always Small Reminders That Make The Loss Fresh Again.

There Is No Greater Power On This Earth Than Story.

The Only Thing I Don't Divulge Is The Truth About Mother Killing Little Carolina. I Don't Know Why. Perhaps I Sense He's Not Ready To Know That Just Yet. Maybe He Never Will. People Can Live With Only So Much Honesty. And Sometimes, People Can Suprise You. I Talk To My Brother As I Never Have Before, Trusting In Him, Letting The River Listen To My Confessions On Its Path Toward The Sea. ~pg 693

You’ve Been Assigned An Identity Since Birth. Then You Spend The Rest Of Your Life Walking Around In It To See If It Really Fits. You Try On All These Different Selves And Abandon Just As Many. But Really It’s About Dismantling All That False Armor, Getting Down To What’s Real. -going Bovine

I Knew It. You’re An Alien,” Said Her Former Best Friend, The Pale, Bespectacled Creature With The Spectacular Cleavage. “yes, I’m An Alien And I Still Made Cheerleader. And Now I’m Going To Steal Your Boyfriend To Prove Girls Can’t Really Be Friends.” “i Sat Back Timidly When You Torched My House, Killed My Parents, And Ate My Dog. But Now You’re Stealing My Boyfriend? That’s A Step Too Far!

True Affection And Love Have A Purity Which Shall Always Prevail Over Bigotry.

I’m Not Interested In Being Polite. It’s False.

Look, I Know This Seems A Little Half-assed...' 'no, Dude. I'd Be Thrilled If This Plan Were Half-assed. This Is, Like, No-assed.' 'you're Right. It's The Most No-assed Thing I've Ever Done In My Life.

Centuries Of Fighting, And For What? I Say. "today It Ends. I Can't Live In Fear Any Longer. I've Cursed This Power. I've Both Enjoyed And Misused It. And I've Hidden It Away. Now I Must Try To Wield It Correctly, To Marry It To A Purpose And Hope That Is Enough.

I Don't Think You Should Die Until You're Ready. Until You've Wrung Out Every Last Bit Of Living You Can.

It Is Funny How You Do Not Miss Affection Until It Is Given, But Once It Is, It Can Never Be Enough; You Would Drown In It If Possible.

There's No Such Thing As Nothing. In Every Nothing, There's A Something. In Fact, There Could Be Everything!

Come Awake, Tom. Fathers Can Willfully Hurt Their Children. They Can Be Addicts Too Weak To Give Up Their Vices, No Matter The Pain It Causes. Mothers Can Turn You Invisible With Neglect. They Can Erase You With A Denial, A Refusal To See. Friends Can Deceive You. People Lie. It Is A Cold, Hard World. I Do Not Blame Nell Hawkins For Retreating From It Into A Madness Of Her Own Choosing.

Hi. I’m From Arkansas, The Cantaloupe State. And Tonight, I Hope You Will Hold My Melons Close To Your Heart And Vote Me Your Miss Teen Dream.

As One, They Leap, Laughing, And That Is Where We Leave Them - Mouths Open, Arms Spread Wide, Fingers Splayed To Take In The Whole World, Bodies Flying High In Defiance Of Gravity, As If They Will Never Fall.

My Dad Was A Presbyterian Minister. Yes, I Am One Of Those Dreaded P.k.s - Preachers Kids. Be Afraid.

...because Really, Sometimes The Irony Gods Just Get Drunk.

What Frightens You? What Makes The Hair On Your Arms Rise, Your Palms Sweat, The Breath Catch In Your Chest Like A Wild Thing Caged? Is It The Dark? A Fleeting Memory Of A Bedtime Story, Ghosts And Goblins And Witches Hiding In The Shadows? Is It The Way The Wind Picks Up Just Before A Storm, The Hint Of Wet In The Air That Makes You Want To Scurry Home To The Safety Of Your Fire? Or Is It Something Deeper, Something Much More Frightening, A Monster Deep Inside That You've Glimpsed Only In Pieces, The Vast Unknown Of Your Own Soul Where Secrets Gather With A Terrible Power, The Dark Inside?

Feast For The Fisherman, The Ultimate Emo Band. Said To Be Sold With A Complimentary Prescription For Antidepressants And A Free Flatiron.

Gonzo Narrows His Eyes. 'how Often Do You Clean That Thing?' 'every Night,' The Waitress Answers. Her Smile Is Strained. 'that's It? Do You Know How Long It Takes For Listeria To Grow Under Those Hot Lamps, Even With Ice?' Here We Go. 'it Can Happen In Just Five Hours. Five Hours And You've Got The Salad Bar Of Death!' The Waitress Looks Confused. 'from Listerine?

...i Do Have To Wonder What Sort Of Childhood The Grimm Brothers Endured. They Are Not A Merry Bunch Of Storytellers, What With Their Children Roasted By Witches, Maidens Poisoned By Old Crones, And Whatnot.

You Have A Steady Fella?” Sam Asked After A Bit. “no Fella Can Hold Me For Long.” Sam Gave Her A Sideways Glance. “that A Challenge?” “no. A Statement Of Fact.

A Man Bumps Me On His Busy Way Without So Much As An Apology. But That Is All Right. I Forgive You, Busy Man About Town With The Sharp Elbows. Hail And Farewell To You! For I, Gemma Doyle, Am To Have A Splendid Christmas In London Town. All Shall Be Well. God Rest Us Merry Gentlemen. And Gentlewomen.

In A World Like This One, Only The Random Makes Sense.

Evie Didn’t Mind Yelling, But She Hated Feeling Judged. It Got Under Her Skin And Made Her Feel Small And Ugly And Unfixable.

Im A Techno Moron. I Need Help Just To Plug In My Video Camera.

Write Like It Matters, And It Will.

Please Do Not Strain Yourself, Miss Doyle. I Won't Have My Girls Going Cross-eyed In The Name Of Art.

The Wind Picks Up. It Sends Leaves Scurrying For Cover Until A Softer Breeze Blows Through, Settling Them Down Again As If To Say, Shhh, There, There, It's All Right. One Leaf Still Dances In The Air. It Spins Higher And Higher, Defying Gravity And Logic, Stretching For Something Just Out Of Reach. It Shall Have To Fall, Of Course. Eventually. But For Now, I Hold My Breath, Willing It To Keep Going, Taking Comfort In Its Struggle.

In School, They Would Tell You That Life Wouldn’t Come To You; You Had To Go Out And Make It Your Own. But When It Came To Love, The Message For Girls Seemed To Be This: Don’t. Don’t Go After What You Want. Wait. Wait To Be Chosen, As If Only In The Eye Of Another Could One Truly Find Value. The Message Was Confusing And Infuriating. It Was A Shell Game With No Actual Pea Under The Rapidly Moving Cups.

She's No Beauty, Mate

In Each Of Us Lie Good And Bad, Light And Dark, Art And Pain, Choice And Regret, Cruelty And Sacrifice... No One Can Live In The Light All The Time.

Everything Is Randomly Connected.

I Thought Research Would Be More Glamorous, Somehow. I'd Give The Librarian A Secret Code Word And He'd Give Me The One Book I Needed And Whisper The Necessary Page Numbers. Like A Speakeasy. With Books.

In The End, I Take My Shoes Off And Stick My Feet In, Letting The Lukewarm Water Lick At My Ankles. It Feels Good, And Not Just Because I’m Stoned. I Make A Mental Note To Add This To Dulcie’s List Of Things Worth Living For. For Some Reason, I Keep Seeing Her Rolling Her Eyes At Me, That Big, Goofy Grin Stretching Her Face Like Silly Putty. On My Private List, I Add Her Smile. She Doesn’t Have To Know.

Prepared To Fly, Even If She Has To Loose Her Legs To Do It

I Shan't Ever Understand Your Willingness To Lie Down And Die," Felicity Bars. "if You Won't At Least Try To Fight, I Have No Sympathy For You.

Agent Jones Switched To The Big Screen And A Grainy Video Of Momo Sitting At His Enormous Desk, A Swivel-hipped Elvis Clock Ticking Behind His Bewigged Head. 'death To The Capitalist Pigs! Death To Your Cinnamon Bun-smelling Malls! Death To Your Power Walking And Automatic Car Windows And I'm With Stupid T-shirts! The Republic Of Chacha Will Never Bend To Your Side-of-fries -drive -through-please-oh-would-you-like-ketchup-with-that Corruption! Momo B. Chacha Defies You And All You Stand For, And One Day, You Will Crumble Into The Sea And We Will Pick Up The Pieces And Make Them Into Sand Art.

And Now I Understand That Truth Casts A Spell Of Its Own, One I'm Not Sure Of How To Hold On To, Though I'm Desperate To Try.

Adina Appealed To The Sky. "we Asked For Rescue And You Sent Us Incompetent Rockstar Pirates With A Broken Ship And Perfect Abs?" "thank You, God," Petra Said.

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