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I Stared At Her In Amazement. "how Do You Even Live With Yourself?"..."you're Willing To Sell Children To A Foreign Government So They Can Be Used As Weapons, Possibly Against Other Americans. I Don't Get It. Were You Hiding Behind A Door On Morals And Ethics Day?...you Couldn't Mother Someone If They Shot Five Gallons Of Estrogen Into Your Veins.

-James Patterson

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I Stared At Her

James Patterson

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I Stared At Her In Amazement. "how Do You Even Live With Yourself?"..."you're Willing To Sell Children To A Foreign Government So They Can Be Used As Weapons, Possibly Against Other Americans. I Don't Get It. Were You Hiding Behind A Door On Morals And Ethics Day?...you Couldn't Mother Someone If They Shot Five Gallons Of Estrogen Into Your Veins.

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Don’t Be Afraid.” “i Hear Voices,” Iggy Said. “be Very Afraid.

Pick A Tree. I'll Carve Our Initials Into It." -fang

A Boy And A Girl, Fated To Rule All. Two Will Rise, And One Will Fall.

That's More Than Three Questions, Max. And Sometimes Whether Someone Is Your Friend Or Enemy Is All In How You Look At It. But If You Must Know, I Consider Myself Your Friend, A Good Friend Who Loves You Very Much. No One Loves You More Than I Do, Maximum. Now Listen. I Ask The Questions, Not You. You're Just Here... For The Ride. For The Incredible, Indescribable Maximum Ride.

In A Manner Of Speaking. As We Intend For You To Found A Dynasty. And That Dynasty Will Rule Society Until It Has Progressed Enough To-" "overthrow The Dynasty In A Revolutionary, Blood Filled Coup!" Iggy Said Eagerly. We All Looked At Him. "just Saying." He Sheepishly Took A Bite Of Cookie.

Can I Come In? No! I'm In A Towel! I'm Blind!

"i Feel Like, Like Pudding," Iggy Groaned. "pudding With Nerve Endings. Pudding In Great Pain."

So There You Have It, The Extent Of My Charms: Brown Hair And Eyes Like Unbarfed Chocolate. I'm A Lucky Girl." -max

"so You Have Your Price."... "your Soul For A Cookie."

How Could You Stop Loving Me?

My Mom Had A Soft Heart After All! Instead Of Being Chained By Both Wrists, We Were Only Chained By One Ankle! I Mean, If I’d Been Looking For Proof That She Really Did Love Me, This Was It, Right?

My Life Would Never Contain A Convenient, Pain-saving Plan When It Could Stretch A Problem Out Into An Endless Agony Of Uncertainty And Torture.

If You're Ever Feeling A Lack Of Middle-aged White Men, Just Pop Into The Capitol. Not So Much The House Of Representatives, Which Has A Bit More Color And Texture, But The Senate -- Jeez. Yes, Let's Have More Testosterone Running The Country. Maximum Ride, School's Out--forever

This Time I Wouldn't Forget Him, Because I Couldn't Ever Forgive Him - For Breaking My Heart Twice.

I Mean,he Decided We'd Be Better Apart,you Know?it Wasn't A Joint Decision.like, If Your Gonna Make A Decision About Me And My Life Without Consulting Me,i'd Better Be Dying And Unconscious And You'd Better Be Following Carefully Written Instructions.

Do You Like To Eat Things? -i Love Eating. I List It As A Hobby.

A Friend Of Mine Once Defined Love As Finding Someone You Can Talk To Late Into The Night

Finding Someone

I Had To Give Him Props, But How Annoying Of Him To Be A Hero When I Was Trying So Hard To Dislike Him. It Was Downright Selfish.

He Grinned At Me So Unexpectedly I Forgot To Flap For A Second And Dropped Several Feet. "you Looove Me," He Crooned Smugly. Holding His Arms Out Wide, He Added, "you Love Me This Much.

If Fang Is In Any Way Harmed While I'm Gone-if He Gets A Hangnail-you Won't See Another Morning. Are We Clear On That?

Life Can Be Like Walking On A High Wire. Falling Seems A Tiny Misstep Away.

Excuse Me? I'm Alive Too.

If The White House Could Do More To Tell Parents That Getting Children Reading Is Their Business Too, We'd See A Big Difference. Hollywood And The Nba Or Nfl Could Step In, Too. In England They Have An Event Called Book Day, Where Every Child Receives A Pound To Use At Any Bookstore.

Do I Open It? Do I Open It? Of Course I Freaking Open It!

And Now I Was Trying To Brush My Hair,you Know,when I Thought About It,and Looking At Myself In Mirrors,wondering If I Was Pretty.pretty! A Year Ago,when My Haair Got In My Eyes I Hacked It Off With A Knife.the Only Thing Important About My Clothes Was Whether They Were To Stiff To Move Fast In Battle. And Fang Had Been My Best Friend And An Excellent Fighter.

Time For Bed.” I Held My Fist Out. One By One, My Flock Stacked Theirs On Top, And Then We Headed Up Into The Trees To Sleep The Sleep Of The Innocent. Well, Okay, Maybe Not So Innocent. But The Sleep Of The Much Less Guilty Than Others, For Sure.

Now, Max, I Think We Both Know Your Parents Aren't Missionaries." I Opened My Eyes Wide. "no? Well, For God's Sake, Don't Tell Them. They'd Be Crushed. Thinking They're Doing The Lord's Work And All.

I Have A Number Of Writers I Work With Regularly. I Write An Outline For A Book. The Outlines Are Very Specific About What Each Scene Is Supposed To Accomplish.

I Love Movies And I Like A Lot Of Good Television. At The End Of The Project, I Don't Care If They Changed [it From The Book], I Just Want To Look At It And Go, "i Loved That. That Really Turned Out Well."

Happy All Life For Ever

Yeah,” Said Iggy. “but What Now? Let’s Do Something Fun.” I Guess Being On The Run From Bloodthirsty Erasers And Insane Scientists Wasn’t Enough Fun For Him. Kids Today Are So Spoiled.

That'd Be Just What I Need: A Rash Of Car Thefts Across America, Committed By Dedicated Readers.

I Mean, Who Cares About Spongebob Squarepants? I'm Sitting Here With Wolverine! -random Kid Talking To Ari

You're Lucky If You Find Something You Like To Do, And It's A Miracle If Somebody Will Pay You To Do It.

Ultimately, A Great Thriller Is A Roller Coaster Ride. I Like To Think That's A Promise I Have Never Failed To Keep, And One That I'd Say Has Served My Books Well.

Gazzy: "just Ten?" Angel: "no." Gazzy: "five?" Angel: "no.

It Gets So Tiring, This Strong-picking-on-the-weak Stuff. It Was The Story Of My Life -literally- And It Seemed To Be A Big Part Of The Outside World Too. I Was Sick Of It, Sick Of Guys Like These, Stupid And Bullying.

Gazzy, Man, Jeezum!" Fang Exclaimed. "what The Heck Have You Been Eating For God's Sake?" That Was A Smoke Bomb!" Gazzy Defended Himself. "not Even I Could Fill This Whole Flippin' House!

Seize What's Been Handed You. Make Smart Decisions. Make Decisions Because Life Is A Temporary Situation.

The Act Of Laughing Releases Some Nice Chemical Into Your Brain, You Feel Good And It's Free.

Is It Important To Be Right Or Is It Important To Do What's Right? That's One Of The Hardest Lessons To Learn.

So The First Thing We're Gonna Do," I Told Him, "is Push You Off The Roof.

Fang, Fang. I Love You. I Looooove You. I Love You Thiiiiiiiiiis Much!

Yes, I Sounded Like A Pathetic Weenie. I Prefer To Think Of It As Showing My Softer Side.

Don't Ever Leave Me Again." -max I Won't. I Won't Not Ever." -fang

What I Said Yesterday Didn't Mean Anything! I Love Everyone In The Flock! Plus, It Was The Valium Talking!" "uh-huh. You Just Keep Telling Yourself That. You Looove Me." Max: (tries To Punch Him) "pick A Tree. I'll Go Carve Our Initials In It." Max: (screams And Runs Into Bathroom)

Max - You Have A Bigger Mission Than Finding The Flock's Parents. Focus On Helping The Whole World, Not Just Your Friends. I Held My Wings Steady, Coasting For A Long, Long Way On A Warm Updraft. It Was Like Floating On A Cloud, The Best Feeling You Can Imagine. I Wish You Could Try It With Me. Maybe Next Time. You Know, Voice, I Thought Finally, My Friends Are My World.

It's Our Job - As Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles - To Find Books Our Kids Are Going To Like.

Love Hurts." Oh, Shut Up!" - Pg 123

Jane-sweetie, We've Talked About Your Weight-" My Mother Began. I'm Only Eight Years Old," I Said. "how About I Promise To Be Anorexic Later?

I Write Larger Than Life. It's What I Do.

Larger Than Life

Was This Normalcy-predictable Patterns, The Certainty Of Doing The Same Thing Everyday? Because If So, Normalcy Was About To Make Me Freak Out And Start Screaming.

Does Anything On You Work Properly?" Asked Ter Borcht. "well, I Do Have A Highly Developed Sense Of Irony." Replied Iggy.

We're Famous" Iggy Whispered So Low That Fang Could Barely Hear Him. "so's Swine Flu" Fang Whispered Back.

A Lot Of Things That People Think Are Risky, I Don't Think Are Risky. I Don't Get All That. I Think What Was Really Risky For Network Television Was To Let Cable Television To Take The Summers.

I'm A Very Good Storyteller; I Have A Lot Of Compassion For People. That's Very Useful For A Novelist. A Lot Of Novelists Are Snots. They're Just Mean People. I'm Not A Terribly Skilled Stylist, Nor Do I Want To Be. I Want A Lot Of People To Read One Of My Stories And Go, 'that Was Pretty Cool.'

This Is Not A Democracy," I Said, Understanding He Fear But Unable To Do Anything About It. "it's A Maxocracy.

You Plan To Fail If You Fail To Plan

I Moved To Leave, And Dylan Actually Grabbed Me By My Shoulders. I Was So Surprised That I Forgot To Karate-chop His Elbows And Break His Arms.

"hello, Max," He Said Quietly, Searching My Face. "how Do You Feel?" Which Was A Ten On The 'imbecilic Question' Scale Of One To Ten. "why, I Feel Fine, Jeb," I Said Brightly. "how About You?" "any Nausea? Headache?" "yep. And It's Standing Here Talking To Me."

I Love You Max,"fang Said..."god, Max I Love You So Much." I Know. I Thought. I've Always Known

People Always Remember The Worst Day Of Their Lifes. It Becomes A Part Of Them Forever.

I Stood There Watching Phoebe Arrange The Pillows And The Sheets. She Isn't Thinking That I... I Mean, She Doesn't Think That She And I Would... What?

Max: "fang! This Is A Huge Break! Of Course We Should Go Check It Out!" Fang: "but We're Grounded." Max And Fang: (stare At Each Other For A Second And Burst Out Laughing)

Bombs Are Good. I Love Bombs."--iggy

What Are They Teaching These Thugs? -why Are There So Many Of Them? -what Is The Institute For Higher Aeronautics? -how Many Of The Are There? There Are Only Six Of Us! Why? -why Is Dc Public Transportation So Weird? -why Don't We Mug Those Eraser Goons For Money More Often? -fang's Blog

I Feel Like I'm Going To Hurl. Which, Even If I Wanted To Do, I Couldn't Do, Because I Haven't Eaten. I Can't Even Drag Myself Out Of My Room. And While I'd Be Able To Muster The Strength To Roundhouse Fang Until He Begged For Mercy, I'de Be Mush Around An Eraser.

People Always Come Up To Me And Say, 'you Should Do Standup.' It's Nice To Discover Things About Yourself. That Keeps Everything Lively And Fun.

Fang Felt A Cold Jolt, Then Dismissed It. Max Wasn’t Dead. He Would Know, Somehow. He Would Have Felt It. The World Still Felt The Same To Him; Therefore, Max Was Still In It.

I’m Not Comfortable In This Stadium,” I Explained, Trying To Look Calm. “i Know. And You Hate Fang Looking At Those Girls. But We’re Still Having Fun, And Fang Still Loves You, And You’ll Still Save The World. Okay?

If You Love Something Let It Go.. If It Comes Back Its Yours

Love Coming Back

Letting Things Go

Part 5 The Voice- Make That My Voice

I Just Wish I Could Walk Into My Senator’s Office And Say, “senator Dude, Um, We Have A Problem With These Sicko Scientists…” But Then Again, I Don’t Think We Have A Senator, Do We? Is There A State Where Mutant Freaks Are Represented? If So, Let Me Know.

What Was Fang Going To Do Blog About Max Throwing Herself Into Space So She Wouldn't Have To Kiss Him Again? No Instead He Smashed His Fist Against The Cave Wall Then Grimaced At The Pain And Stupidity Seeing His Bloodied Knuckles

A Guy Who Hates His Job Isn't Going To Be Too Charming At Home.

Iggy’s Spine Tightened, His Face Like Ice. When He’d Been At The School, They’d Tried To Surgically Enhance His Night Vision. Now He Was Blind Forever. Oops.

Who Ya Gonna Call?" "ghostbusters!" "that Phrase Is Ruined Forever.

What Are You Guys Doing? If You Anted Me To Take A Shower, All You Had To Do Was Pay Me Ten Bucks, Like You Usually Do

Gazzy: (hugging Himself And Jumping Up And Down) "i'm Brilliant! I'm A Genius! I Can Blow Up The World!" Max: (raises Her Eyebrows) Gazzy: "not That I Would Want To, Of Course," (coughs)

Part 3 Back To School (the Normal Kind)

Iggy: "now What? Who You Gonna Call?" A Quiet Voice In The Hallway Outside: "ghostbusters!" (captain Perry And John Groan) John: "that Phrase Is Ruined Forever.

Yeah, Well, Asparagus Is Good For Me, But It Still Makes Me Want To Throw Up.

I Looked Around. As Flock Leader, Everyone Was Expecting Me To Make A Decision. Jeb's Presence Here Would Bring Uncertainty, Chaos, Probably Danger. It Would Perk Up My Day.

Louisiana, The State Road Maintenance Forgot.

They [erasers] Were Bad Fliers," Angel Chimed In, "and In Their Minds, They Weren't All Kill The Mutants, Like They Usually Are. They Were Like, Remember To Flap!

We’ll Be Back!” He Snarled. It Was Really Ari’s Voice. Boy, You Just Can’t Kill People Like You Used To,” Said Fang

When I Wanted Information, It Was Silent; When I Didn't Want To Hear From It, It Got Chatty. It Was Alost As Irritating As Fang.

You...are...a...frige...with...wings...we...are...freaking...ballet...dancers!

You Really Are A Scary Man,no Really! If I Had Boots I Would Be Quaking In Them.

One Of The Nice Things About Books As Opposed To Television And Movies To Some Extent Is It's Not A Passive Entertainment. People Really Do Get Involved, And They Do Create, And They Do Have Their Own Visions Of What Different Characters Look Like And What Should Happen. It's Great - It Means Their Brains Are Working.

Always Expect The Unexpected. Right Around Thanksgiving, When The New Alex Cross Will Be Out. It's Called Four Blind Mice And It's A Pretty Amazing Story About Several Murders Inside The Military.

All Genders?' Whispered Nudge. 'aren't There Just The Two' I Shrugged. 'no Idea. Maybe They've Created Others.

Max, If You Survive Your Final Test, Can You Steal Me One Of Those Magic Outfits For Me?" I'll Try To Get One For Each Of Us. Hey! 'if'?

Being The Leader Means You Have To Make Life Or Death Decisions Sometimes.

Then I Went To Bed And Cried Into My Pillow. I Wasn't Sad, Not At All. It Was Just So Beautiful To Have An Intense Feeling And The Right Words At The Same Time. What Are We But Our Stories?

Denial Is Not Just A River In Egypt.

Fang. I Had To Do Some Thinking About Him. Me. I Had Some Thinking To Do About Me Too.

Homework Is A Term That Means Grown Up Imposed Yet Self-afflicting Torture.

Guess They Forgot To Program Us With Any Respect For Authority." "well, I Have A Highly Developed Sense Of Irony.

A Vet! I Started Laughing Weakly And Had To Sit On The Edge Of The Tub. A Vet. Wait Till They Found Out How Appropriate That Was.

I Do 30 To 40 Books A Year, So It's A Fair Amount Of Reading. Back And Forth Between Nonfiction And Fiction. I Usually Have Three Or Four Things That Are Open On My Desk, On My Bed, On Audiobook In The Car.

No One Looks Like Fang-dark And Still And Dangerous, Like He's Daring You To Set Him Off. But I'd Seen Him Rocking Angel When She'd Hurt Herself; I'd Seen Him Smile In His Sleep; I'd Seen The Deep, Darkl Ight In His Eyes As He Leaned Over Me... ~max; "max"; Page 24

Noooo!" On The Screen, A Woman's Eyes Bugged Almost Out Of Her Head, And I Tried Not To Scream. Tried Not To Scream In Exasperation, I Mean. The Serial Killer Was Right In Front Of Her, Wide Open! Clearly, Instead Of Weeping Like A Moron, She Could Be Lunging Forward And Administering A Swift Uppercut To The Chin. Then This Entire Pointless Ordeal Would Be Over With, And I Could Go Home.

Let's Just Say That If These Scientist Had Been Using Their Brilliance For Good Instead Of Evil, Cars Would Run Off Water Vapor And Leave Fresh Compost Behind Them; No One Would Be Hungry; No One Would Be Ill; All Buildings Would Be Earthquake-, Bomb-, And Flood-proof; And The World's Entire Economy Would Have Collapsed And Been Replaced By One Based On The Value Of Chocolate.

His Face Flushed, And I Felt Like Cheering. "yes," He Said Stiffly. "besides De Vings." "hmm. Besides De Vings." Nudge Tapped One Finger Against Her Chin. "um..." Her Face Brightened. "i Once Ate Nine Snickers Bars In One Sitting. Without Barfing. That Was A Record!" "hardly A Special Talent," Ter Borcht Said Witheringly. Nudge Was Offended. "yeah? Let's See You Do It." ... ... "i Vill Now Eat Nine Snickers Bars," Gazzy Said In A Perfect, Creepy Imitation Of Ter Borcht's Voice, "visout Bahfing."

I Never Miss A Good Chance To Shut Up

The Weird, Weird Thing About Devastating Loss Is That Life Actually Goes On. When You're Faced With A Tragedy, A Loss So Huge That You Have No Idea How You Can Live Through It, Somehow, The World Keeps Turning, The Seconds Keep Ticking.

Once A Bird Kid, Always A Bird Kid. - Maximum Ride Series

Fang? Are You- Like Max?" Asked Dr. Martinez. "nope,"he Said, Sounding Bored. "i'm The Smart One." I Resisted The Urge To Kick Him In The Shin.

Who, Last Time I'd Checked, Was Still On Our Official Archenemy List. (yes, We Have To Keep A List. It's Kind Of Sad.)

They Call Me, The Sharkalator

I'm Going To Turn Fifteen Tomorrow," I Said, Warming To The Idea. "it's High Time. I Can't Remember When I Turned Fourteen." (said By Max) If You Get To Be Fifteen, Then I Get To Be Fifteen!" Iggy Sounded Indignant. I Looked At Fang. "wanna Be Fifteen?" His Smile Melted Me. "yeah.

Don't Depend On Others To Give You Strength....find It Within Yourself

My Favorite Books Are Actually Very Complicated - 'one Hundred Years Of Solitude', 'ulysses'.

I Don't Damsel Well. Distress, I Can Do. Damseling? Not So Much.

And Flock Rule Number Two Is, Don't Argue With Max Or You'll Live To Regret It." I Spun And Stomped Out To The Clearing, Turning Back For One Last Jab At Dylan. "and By The Way, You Clearly Don't Know Me Better Than Fang Does. Do You See Fang Arguing With Me? No, You Do Not." Fang Rolled His Eyes.

Why Aren't Crazy People Content To Take Over, Like, One Town? It Always Has To Be The Whole Word. They Can't Just Control Maybe Twenty People. The Have To Control Everyone. The Can't Just Be Stinking Rich. The Can't Just Do Genetic Experiments On A Couple Unlucky Few. They Have To Put Something In The Water. In The Air. To Get Everyone. I Was Tired Of All Of It.

It's Funny How Different People Are. If I'd Been This Kid And Someone Was Snarling "ordering A Pizza?" At Me, Without Even Thinking, I Would Have Snarled Back "yeah. You Want Pepperoni?" -maximum Ride

I Didn't Think He Was A Robot...but I Did Wonder If His Emotions Had Been Designed Out Of Him. Of Course, With A Guy, How Could I Tell? Ha Ha!

An Unbearable Smug Look Came Over His Usually Impassive Face."uh-huh. You Just Keep Telling Youself That. You Looove Me." I Took A Swing At Him, But He Jumped Back Nimbly, And All I Did Was Jar My Left Arm, Making It Hurt. He Laughed At Me, Then Pointed At The Woods Ouside The Window."pick A Tree. I'll Go Carve Our Initials In It.

It's Been Said That Love Finds You When You're Ready.

I Was Breathless, Talking As Fast As I Could. I Was Afraid If I Stopped Talking, Even For A Second, I’d Start Sobbing Again. “whoa, There.” Fang Smiled And Reached Up, Tracing A Hand Down The Side Of My Face, Winding Strands Of My Hair Around His Fingers. “stop Talking And Let Me Just Tell You How Great It Is To Wake Up Staring At Your Face. Okay?

That Machine Took My Money!' I Said. 'i Must Have Revenge!

I Grew Up In A House Full Of Women: My Mother, Grandmother, Three Sisters, And Two Female Cats. And I Still Have The Buzz Of Their Conversations In My Head. As An Adult, I Have More Female Friends Than Male Ones: I Just Love The Way That Women Talk.

Fang Snorted In Disbelief. "on One Hand, We Have A Mythical Nice Family That Wants To Adopt Me. On The Other, We Have A Gang Of Insane Scientists Desperate To Do Genetic Experiments On Innocent Children. Guess Which Hand I Get Dealt?

You Love Me This Much.

I Vill Destroy De Snickers Bar!" Gazzy(the Gas Man)

You Have A Memory Chip That Small Implanted In You,” He Verified. I Nodded, Guessing This Was Somewhat Worse Than Having Cooties.

The Receptionist Looked Us Over, Then Went Back To Typing Something Incredibly Urgent—like Her Résumé́ For Another Job.

When I Write I Pretend I'm Telling A Story To Someone In The Room And I Don't Want Them To Get Up Until I'm Finished.

My Thing Is When We're Doing A Movie Or Tv Show, I Just Want To Go In And Look At It And Go, "that Was Great."

Awwww, Lame, We're Not Going To Disneyworld. (said By The Amazing Talking Dog, Total)

There's Nothing More Annoying Than Cold Logic And Reason When You've Got A Good Fit Going.

I Led The Way Toward The Crowd, Trying To Look Casual, Like, Fly? Me? Nah.

Maybe He Was A Good A Good Whitecoat—like Jeb. And Maybe The Moon Was Made Of Cream Cheese.

I Read Some, And Then Visited With People Involved In This Curious, Exciting And Somewhat Misunderstood Sub-culture. I Met With A Fang Maker, Who Offered To Fit Me For An Exquisite Pair.

In My Office In Florida I Have, I Think, 30 Manuscript Piles Around The Room. Some Are Screenplays Or Comic Books Or Graphic Novels. Some Are Almost Done. Some I'm Rewriting. If I'm Working With A Co-writer, They'll Usually Write The First Draft. And Then I Write Subsequent Drafts.

...drifting Downstream In A Row Boat Doesn't Count Against Your Life Span.

Some Kids Get Called "bundles Of Joy" Or "slices Of Heaven" Or "dreams Come True." We Got "the Fifty-fourth Generation Of Dna Experiments." Doesn't Have The Same Warm And Fuzzy Feel. But Maybe I'm Oversensitive.

The Hamster Called. He Wants His Home Back.

Call Me Crazy, But There's Just Something Cheering About Seeing Huge Raptors Tear Into Eraser Flesh.

For Me, "zoo" Has Always Been A Fable. It Has Nothing To Do With Realism. It's A Fable About What Man Is Doing To The World, And The Animals Have Retribution. But In The Real World, This Would Not Happen. But In The World Of 1984, This Kind Of Thing Can Happen In A Story.

Like A Good Song, Life Has Verses, The Goliards Had Taught Me. Each Verse Has To Be Sung. It Takes All Of Them To Make A Song. It Is The Entire Chanson You Name, But When You Think Of It, When You Smile, It Is A Favorite Verse That Delights Your Ears.

Man, You Weigh A Freaking Ton," He Told Me. "what've You Been Eating, Rocks?" "why, Is Your Head Missing Some?" I Croaked. His Mouth Almost Quirked In A Smile, And That's When I Knew How Upset He'd Been

Every Once In A While, I'll Have A 'do You Know Who I Am?' Moment, At Least In My Head. I Hate That.

Imagine Life Is A Game In Which You Are Juggling Five Balls. The Balls Are Called Work, Family, Health, Friends, And Integrity. And You're Keeping All Of Them In The Air. But One Day You Finally Come To Understand That Work Is A Rubber Ball. If You Drop It, It Will Bounce Back. The Other Four Balls...are Made Of Glass. If You Drop One Of These, It Will Be Irrevocably Scuffed, Nicked, Perhaps Even Shattered.

Just Because Life Is Hard, And Always Ends In A Bad Way, Doesn't Mean That All Stories Have To, Even If That's What They Tell Us In School And In The New York Times Review. In Fact, It's A Good Thing That Stories Are As Different As We Are, One From Another.

I'm A Freaking Princess When It Comes To Other People's Feelings. Yo Dogbreath, Get Your Paws Of The Everglades. -max

I Dropped My Voice And Stared Into Her Eyes. I Could Tell She Was Trying Hard Not To Look Away. I Was So Furious I Could Have Cheerfully Ripped Her Head Off. "but You're Going To Find Out, Mom,' I Said Very Softly."and It's Gonna Give You Nightmares For The Rest Of Your Wasted Life." Oh, My God, I Was So Badass. It Was All I Could Do To Not Give A Mwa Ha Ha!

Great, They Give Blind Kids Guns," I Said, Trying To Lessen His Horror. "i Don't Even Let Iggy Have A Gun. Usually.

What Was Premeditated Murder If Not Calculated Leverage?

We Try Not To Encourage Demonstrations Of His Mastery Of The Gaseous Arts.

Oh No! Don't Drag Us Away From Antartica And Take Us To The Playground Of The Rich And Famous! Not That Briar Patch! -max

Fair Isn't Fair, Dean. Like I'm Supposed To Help You Because Fair Is Fair? Try I Need You To Help Me So I Wont Rip Out Your Spine And Beat You With It. I Might Respond To That, Maybe.

You Could Have Gotten A Car With Gps," Total Said Helpfully. Yes," I Said "or We Could Have Brought Along A Dog That Doesn't Talk." I Gave Angel A Pointed Look, And She Smiled, Well, Angelically, At Me. Total Huffed, Offended At Me And Climbed Into Her Lap.

Hey. Not Sure What’s Going On-gonna Go Find Out. Be Careful And Don’t Do Anything Stupid. Don’t Come After Me-your Better On Your Own. See You. F I Sat On The Edge Of The Bed, Holding The Note. Okay, So Fang Had Looked Up Vague In The Dictionary And This Was What It Had Said To Write.

Am I Tough? Am I Strong? Am I Hard-core? Absolutely. Did I Whimper With Pathetic Delight When I Sank My Teeth Into My Hot Fried-chicken Sandwich? You Betcha.

Well, I Don’t Know. Mostly I Just Suck Up What Life Throws My Way, Stomp On It, And Then Keep Going. I Don’t Dwell Much On What I Am Or How I Got This Way. It Just Is. I Just Am. I’m Max, And Whatever Form I Take, It’s Good Enough For Me.

Holy [insert Your Choice Of A Swear Word Here]," Said Fang Stunned.

Hollywood Is A Peculiar Beast - People In Hollywood Are Nuts.

Later," Fang Said To Ella And Dr. Martinez In That Gushy, Hyperemotional, Overdramatic Way He Has.

Lots Of Women Are Gifting Themselves With Diamonds For Their Right Hand.

The House Was On Fire," I Greeted Them Tersely. "in Case You're Interested." They Both Glanced Up Overhead As If To Make Sure The House Was Still Standing. Fang Sniffed, Smelling The Smoke. It's Out, Right?" He Said

He Landed 10 Feet Below With A Sickening Crunch-i'm Guessing His Enhancements Didn't Allow Him To Bounce Back Up Like A Ball. We Call That A Design Flaw.

I Believe We Should Spend Less Time Worrying About The Quantity Of Books Children Read And More Time Introducing Them To Quality Books That Will Turn Them On To The Joy Of Reading And Turn Them Into Lifelong Readers.

Listen, Street Punk. You're A Guy, And You're A Couple Inches Taller, And Maybe Forty Pounds Heavier, And Ooh, You're In A Gang. But I've Survived Ten Years Of Catholic School, And I Will Cut You Off At Your Knees Without A Blink. Do You Understand?

Are You Fangalicious? -jess, A Random Blogger I Could Never Be As Fangalicious As You'd Want Me To Be.-fang

Angel: What's Sauerkraut? Max: You Don't Want It. Trust Me.

For A Long Time It Had Seemed To Me That Life Was About To Begin -- Real Life. But There Was Always Some Obstacle In The Way, Something To Be Gotten Through First, Some Unfinished Business, Time Still To Be Served, A Debt To Be Paid. Then Life Would Begin. At Last It Dawned On Me That These Obstacles Were My Life.

We Will Destroy You,” The Flyboys Droned. “you Have No Escape.” That Was The Most Imaginative, Threatening Thing The Whitecoats Had Programmed These ’droids To Say? “talk About Lame,” Fang Muttered.

Boy, You Just Can't Kill People Like You Used To.

I Have A Folder In My Office With About 400 Ideas In It. So It Will Take Me Another 40 Years To Get Through Those.

I Don't Believe In Lecturing People. It's Much More Effective To Present Reading As A Fun, Rewarding Pastime.

De Tall, Dark Vun--dere's Nothing Special About Him At All," Ter Borcht Said Dismissively Of Fang, Who Hadn't Moved Since The Doctor Had Come In. Well, He's A Snappy Dresser," I Offered. One Side Of Fang's Mouth Quirked.

Men Suck, Even Imaginary Ones

I Have An Idea. It’s Risky, And Max Will Kill Us When She Finds Out.” Iggy Raised His Head. “sounds Like My Kind Of Idea.

You're Just Here For The Ride. For The Incredible, Indescribable Maximum Ride. --max's Voice

The Writing In Mission To Paris, Sentence After Sentence, Page After Page, Is Dazzling. If You Are A John Le Carr Fan, This Is Definitely A Novel For You.

Well, It's Like I Have A Gps Inside Me," I Told Them. "one Of The Talking Ones. I Tell It Where I Want To Go, And It Tells Me, Go Twenty Miles, Turn Left, Take Exit Ninety-fourm And So One. It Can Be Pretty Bossy, Frankly. Their Eyes Widened. "really?" Said One. No You Idiot," I Said In Disgust. "i Don't Know How It Works. I Just Know It Has An Unfailing Ability To Point Me In The Opposite Direction Of A Bunch Of Boneheads.

What's So Funny 'bout Peace, Love, And World Destruction?

World Destruction

Lost In Translation

Iggy Nodded. “i’m Bummed We Couldn’t Use Big Boy,” He Said. “but I Don’t Want To Waste It. We Have To Actually See Them First. I Mean, You Do.” “maybe Tomorrow,” The Gasman Said Encouragingly. “we’ll Go See What Havoc We’ve Wreaked.” “wrought.

I'm Big On Having A Blistering Pace. That's One Of The Hallmarks Of What I Do, And That's Not Easy. I Never Blow Up Cars And Things Like That, So It's Something Else That Keeps The Suspense Flowing. I Try Not To Write A Chapter That Isn't Going To Turn On The Movie Projector In Your Head.

Listen Up,” I Said Urgently. “it’s Time To Round Up Your Gear. I’m Gonna Check In With Patrick, And Then We’re Getting The Flock Out Of Here.” Ha-ha.

Maybe, Beauty, True Beauty, Is So Overwhelming, It Goes Straight To Our Hearts.maybe It Makes Us Feel Emotions That Are Locked Away Inside

They're Afraid Of Change, And We Must Change. They're Afraid Of The Young, And We Are The Young. They're Afraid Of Music, And Music Is Our Life. They're Afraid Of Books, And Knowledge, And Ideas. They're Most Afraid Of Our Magic.

Advice: Don’t Wait Until Someone You Have Issues With — Especially Someone You’re Related To — Gets Shot Before You Work It Out.

Well, That's An Evil Smile.

The Idea For Maximum Ride Come From The Earlier Books Of Mine Called When The Wind Blows And The Lake House, Which Also Feature A Character Named Max Who Escapes From A Quiet Despicable School. Most Of The Similarities End There. Max And The Other Kids In Maximum Ride Are Not The Same Max And Kids Featured In Those Two Books. Nor Do Frannie And Kit Play Any Part In Maximum Ride. I Hope You Enjoy The Ride Anyways.

Okay, So, Flying,” I Started, Taking A Deep Breath And Focusing On The Thing I Loved Most In The World. “flying Is … Great. It Feels Great When You’re Doing It. It’s Fun. Pure Freedom. There’s Nothing Better.” Dylan Smiled, A Slow, Easy Smile That Seemed To Light Up His Whole Face. “so The First Thing We’re Going To Do,” I Told Him, “is Push You Off The Roof.

Once I Was Seated, I Couldn't Help People-watching. I'll Admit It, I'm An Addict From Way Back.

Nudge: "i Look Like Prep School Barbie. (looks At Max) Actually, You Look Like Prep School Barbie. I'm Just Barbie's Friend.

I Don't Smile As Much As I Should, Even Though I Smile Inside A Lot.

A Classroom . People Trying To Stick Me In Classrooms Was Becoming As Predictable And Annoying As People Trying To Kill Me, But With Less-fun Results.

Basically, I Have Two Speeds.... Hostile Or Smart-aleck. Your Choice.

Our Parents Were A Test Tube And A Turkey Baster.

Angel Raised Her Hand. "excuse Me. What Does Ltc Stand For?" She Blinked Innocently. "loving Tender Care?"gazzy Suggested.if Our Instructor Had Had Lasers For Eyes, He Would Have Sliced Gazzy In Half. "lieutenant Colonel," He Sputtered.

I Muttered A Swear Word To Myself. After I Heard Angel Cussing Like A Sailor When She Stubbed Her Toe, My New Resolution Was To Watch My Language. All I Needed Was A Six-year-old Mutant With A Potty Mouth

Cats Are Like Baptists. You Know They Raise Hell, But You Can Never Catch Them At It.

Do You Know How Fast You Were Going?" Fang Looked At The Speedometer..."no," He Said Truthfully. I Tagged You At Seventy Miles Per Hour,"she Said, Pulling Out A Clipboard. I Let Out An Impressed Whistle. "excellent! I Never Thought We'd Be That Fast." Fang Shot Me A Look And I Put My Hand Over My Mouth.

Other Than My Hundreds Of Arrests I Really Don't Have That Much Experience With The Law. While The Majority Of People Aren't Corrupt, There Certainly Is An Awful Lot Of Corruption In This Country.

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