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Look, We're Trying To Explore Other Options To Your Retirement," The Whitecoat Said. "you Might Be Useful To Us In Other Ways." Because We're Not That Useful Dead,"nudge Said Thoughtfully. No," I Agreed. "well, Maybe As Doorstops." The Whitecat Made An "eew" Expression. Or Those Things In A Parking Lot That Show Where The Cars Should Stop," Suggested Iggy. He Closed His Eyes And Went Stiff, To Demonstrate What It Would Look Like. Also An Option.

-James Patterson

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Look, We're Trying To

James Patterson

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Look, We're Trying To Explore Other Options To Your Retirement," The Whitecoat Said. "you Might Be Useful To Us In Other Ways." Because We're Not That Useful Dead,"nudge Said Thoughtfully. No," I Agreed. "well, Maybe As Doorstops." The Whitecat Made An "eew" Expression. Or Those Things In A Parking Lot That Show Where The Cars Should Stop," Suggested Iggy. He Closed His Eyes And Went Stiff, To Demonstrate What It Would Look Like. Also An Option.

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I Think E-books Are Terrific In Their Own Right. I Love Being Able To Get On A Plane And Basically Carry Around Seven Books And It Weigh 10 Ounces.

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

I'm Pretty Sure That If You Looked Up The Word "nuts" In The Dictionary, You'll Find My Picture. Just Another Fun Feature Of My Mutant-birdkid-freak Package.

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)

Fang," I Said, My Voice Breaking. "just Live, Okay? Live And Be Okay." With No Warning, I Leaned Down And Kissed His Mouth, Just Like That. "ow," He Said, Touching His Split Lip, Then He And I Stared At Each Other In Shock.

You Know, When You're Right, That's All You Get To Be.

Okay, That So Did Me In. Mr. Rock Being All Emotional? Expressing His Feelings?" P. 12

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

Choose Now," He Spat, His Eyes Practically Shooing Sparks. "me Or Him." Gosh,fang, You Romantic Fool," I Said Sarcastically."howw Incredibly Sexist Pig Of You.

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.

Be Calm. Be Zen. You Are Buddha.

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

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

Love Coming Back

Letting Things Go

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

That Was The Funniest Thing I'd Heard In Days. You're Kidding, Right? Please Tell Me You Have A Stronger Motive For Me Than 'fair Is Fair.' Life Isn't Fair, Dean....nothing Is Fair, Ever. That's The Stupidest Thing I've Ever Heard. I Need To Help You Because Fair Is Fair? Try, 'i Need You To Help Me So I Won't Rip Out Your Spine And Beat You With It.' I Might Respond To That. Maybe.

You Plan To Fail If You Fail To Plan

Yes," I Said. "my Name Is Seven-five-nine-nine-three-nine-ex-dash-one. Junior.

What Are We But Our Stories?

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.)

I Love To Tell Stories. It's A Delight For Me.

Fang (sarcasticaly): Go Pick Out A Tree And I'll Carve Our Initials In It. Max: (screams And Goes In The Bathroom)

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.

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

Everything I Loved Was Taken Away From Me, And I Did Not Die.

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

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

There You Have It: Our Lives In A Nutshell. Emphasis On Nut.

And There I Was, Pretty As Heck, Brown Eyes, A Few Freckles, Fashion Challenged, And A Bad Attitude. Max Ii.

There Are Terrific Models For Success With Reluctant Readers, But Many School Systems And State Governments Need To Set Aside Their 'not Invented Here' And 'we Have More Important Problems Than Education' Attitudes.

If You Want To Write For Yourself, Get A Diary. If You Want To Write For Your Friends, Get A Blog. If You Want To Write For Others...become An Author.

It’s, Like, A Safety Bomb.” -iggy

I Learnt To Love Reading. And Then I Started Scribbling Stories, And I Liked That Even More.

Love Of Reading

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.

I Vill Eat Nine Snikuhs Bahs Visout Bahfing

They Call Me, The Sharkalator

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.

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.

You Know Things Have Gone Bad When Military Marches Pass For Pop Music.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Pain Is A Message, And You Can Choose To Ignore That Message.

I Think Sometimes We Give People A Lot Of Credit Just Because They're Writing Nice Sentences Even If It Isn't Adding Up To Much.

Let's Face It: Most Of Us Don't Realize It, But We Are Failing Our Kids As Reading Role Models. The Best Role Models Are In The Home: Brothers, Fathers, Grandfathers; Mothers, Sisters, Grandmothers. Moms And Dads, It's Important That Your Kids See You Reading. Not Just Books - Reading The Newspaper Is Good, Too.

In This Family, We Always Celebrate Each Other's Birthdays. I Don't Care If You're Four Or Fourteen Or Forty And Scattered Around The World. We Gotta Stick By Each Other, Okay? And Meals- As Long As You Live Under The Same Roof, You Have At Least One Meal A Day Together. I Don't Care If It's A Dreaded Hot Dog In Front Of The Dastardly Tv As Long As You're All There. -maeve Bennett

Life Is Such A Miracle, A Series Of Small Miracles.it Really Is, If You Learn How To Look At It With The Right Perspective.

To Be Without Love Is To Be Without Grace, What Matters Most In Life. We Is So Much Better Than I.

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.

We All Love Each Other, Ange," I Said Impatiently, Hating This Whole Conversation. "no, Not Like This," She Went On Relentlessly. "fang Loves You."......my Mouth Dropped Open. How Does She Know This Stuff? "forget It! No One's Getting Married!" I Hissed. "not In New Hampshire Or Anywhere Else! Not In A Box, Not With A Fox! Now Go To Sleep, Before I Kill You! Oh Yeah, Like I Got Any Sleep After That. - Pg 35

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The Vampire Underworld Is Much Larger Than Most People Could Imagine. It Exists In All The Cities Mentioned In The Book, But Also In Many, Many More. Teenagers, Especially, Seem To Like To Act Out Vampire Fantasies.

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Dogs, Dogs, Go Away, Let Me Live Another Day.

Hi, Max," She Said, Pushing Her Shades Up Onto Her Curls. "i Hope Your Wearing Sunscreen," I Said, “your Gonna Have Hella Wrinkles By The Time Your Ten.” “want Some Daiquiri?” She Offered, Pointing At A Blender. “is It Traitor Flavored?” I Asked.

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

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

We Is Always So Much Better Than I.

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.

What Test?" Asked Nudge. "max, You're Incorruptible." "only By Power." I Said. "you Haven't Tried Chocolate Yet.

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

Angel Is Right,"said Dr. G-h Quickly. "this Is My Clumsy Way Of Demonstrating." "demonstrating What?" I Was Barely Able To Keep A Snarl Out Of My Voice. "how To Get Yourself Beat Up In One Easy Step?

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?

This Is My Brain: O This Is My Brain After Making Out With Fang: * It's Very Sad.

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.

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.

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

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)

Fang: When Do I Get Out Of Here? Max: They Say A Week. Fang: So, Like, Tomorrow? Max: That's What I'm Thinking.

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

Iggy. This Is Not A Democracy," I Said,(...)"it's A Maxocracy.

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'm A Girl Of Extremes. When I Love Something, I'm Like A Puppy Dog (without All The Licking). When I'm Cranky, I'm A Wasp (like A Whole Hive Of 'em). And When I'm Angry, I'm A Mother Bear With A Predator After Her Cubs: Dangerous.

It’s Wherever You Are. If It’s Tapped Into Any Of Your Senses, It Knows Where You Are And What You’re Doing.” Oh No, I Thought, My Spirits Sinking. I Hadn’t Considered That. Did That Mean Nothing I Did Was Ever Anymore? “even In The Bathroom?” The Gasman’s Eyes Widened With Surprise.

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

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.

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

The Hardest Mysteries To Solve Are The Ones You Come To Near The End, Because There Isn't Enough Evidence, Not Enough To Unravel, Unless Somehow You Can Go All The Way Back To The Beginning - Rewind And Replay Everything.

Dr. Martinez: "i Take It You Don't Want Me To Call Your Parent?" Max: "uh, No." Hello, Lab? May I Speak To The Test Tube Please?

Fang! Angel?" I Yelled, Not Even Trying For Stealth. I Was Storming The Castle, Not Stealing The Jewels.

I Tried To Shake Some Water Off. "i Got A Message From Angel,"i Said, Scanning The Tunnel."she Says There's Massive Danger Down Here,something Too Big For Us To Fix Or Deal With." "so Of Course You Immediately Came Down.

It's The Ciiiiiiiiiiiiircle Of Liiiiiiiiiife!" Iggy Sang

Now That We Were Alone,i Was Self-conscious And Cranky Again.why Had I Wanted To Stay?if I Had Been Programmed To Want To Be With Dylan,heads Were Gonna Roll,i Promise You That.

So Fnick, Can I Change Channel?" Iggy Asked. "there's A Game On." "make Yourself At Home, Figgy." Fang Said.

I Was Always A Good Student, But I Didn't Read That Much Until I Was 18 And I Was Working My Way Through College.

When Your Own Romantic Life Is Falling Apart, Everyone Else's Looks Fabulous.

There's Nothing More Dangerous Than Than Someone Trying To Act For The Greater Good.

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

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.

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.

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.

My Style Is Colloquial Storytelling. It's The Way We Tell Stories To One Another - It's Not Writerly, It's Not Overdone.

And Max, I've Put Some Scraps In A Bowl For Your Dog," Mom Said. "it's On The Floor, By The Back Door." The Flock And I Went Still. Uh-oh, I Thought. Total Stomped Up To Me, His Glare Accusing. "a Bowl On The Floor!" He Seethed. "why Don't You Just Chain Me To A Stake In The Yard And Throw Me A Bone!

I Did Know That The Book Would End With A Mind-boggling Trial, But I Didn't Know Exactly How It Would Turn Out. I Like A Little Suspense When I Am Writing, Too.

Walking Over To Iggy, He Poked Him With His Shoe. "does Anysing On You Vork Properly?" Iggy Rubbed His Forehead With One Hand. "well, I Have A Highly Developed Sense Of Irony." Ter Borcht Tsked. "you Are A Liability To Your Group. I Assume You Alvays Hold Onto Someone's Shirt, Yes? Following Dem Closely?" "only When I'm Trying To Steal Their Dessert," Iggy Said Truthfully.

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

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

You Looove Me. You Love Me This Much.

I Hate This Guy,” Ari Muttered, Keeping His Head Down “there’s A Club,” I Told Him. “the Haters Of Ter Borcht Club. Have You Gotten Your Badge Yet?

It's Always Refreshing To Meet Someone Crazier Than Us," I Said. "we Seem So Normal Afterward.

There's Always Be A Me And You.

I'd Been Told That He Had Been Created-literally Created-just For Me,as My "perfect Other Half." Let Me Tell You-if Dylan Was My Perfect Other Half, Then I Needed To Give My First Half A Seriouis Look-see.

What Are You Doing Here?” [ndr Prison] Selling Girl Scout Cookies,” I Said. “want Some? The Samoas Are Terrific.” (max Ii To Max)

And I Think That Everything In Life Is Kind Of Unreal, Isn't It?

Keep This In Mind: There Are No Coincidences.

Total?" I Called. He Looked Up Alertly, Then Ran Over To Me, Small Pink Tongue Hanging Out. Total?" I Said When He Was Close. "can You Talk?" He Flopped Down On The Grass, Panting Slightly. "yeah. So?" Jeezum. I Mean, Mutant Weirdos Are Nothing New To Me, You Know? But A Talking Dog?

Well, I Get Under People's Skins. It's A Gift I Have, What Can I Say?

I Don't Know Why, But Life Is Usually More Complicated Than The Plans That We Make.

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

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.

Meaning What? We're Going To Pretend Nothing's Going On? That's Stupid. The Only Way To Deal With Any Of This Is To Get It Out In The Open." Have You Been Watching Oprah Again?

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.

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

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.'

Why Was The Blind Guy Playing With Matches, You Ask? Because He's Good At It. Anything To Do With Fire, Igniting Things, Exploding Things, Things With Fuses, Wicks, Accelerants . . . Iggy's Your Man. It's One Of Those Good/bad Things.

How Is San Francisco, Alex? Lovely City. Will You Leave Your Heart There? Do You Think It's A Good Place To Die?

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

Yeah, And So Max And Dylan Are Supposed To, Like, Go To Germany And Have Kids Together," I Heard Gazzy Say. My Eyes Popped Open And I Bolted Upright. "what?" Fang Said, His Voice Icy. "gazzy!" I Yelled. Wide Blue Eyes Looked At Me In Surprise, Then Back At Fang's Stoic Face. "oh. Was I Not Supposed To Say Anything?" Gazzy Asked.

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.

It Is My Time. The Time Of Maximum Ride.

I Recommend You Stick To Your Own Species, Shy Babe." P. 155

I Moved To Leave, And Dylan Actually Grabbed My Shoulders. I Was So Surprised That I Forgot To Karate-chop His Elbows And Break His Arms.' “i Don’t Want Anything To Happen To You,” He Said Urgently. “what You Want Does Not Matter Here,” I Said Slowly And Carefully. I Hoped Dylan Was Sensitive Enough To Read Between The Lines, To The Subtext Of: Let Go Of Me Or I’ll Kill You.

Read Between The Lines

Better Readers Are Better Thinkers.

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

You're A Diabolical Little Pyro, Aren't You? He Blushed Modestly.

It's For Upset Stomachs,' Dylan Said, Trying To Hide A Smile. He Pointed To The Words In The Box. 'it's To Reduce Gas In Your Digestive System, Not To Create More Gas To Make Explosions.' Gazzy's Face Fell As Iggy Said. 'really? Gazzy Take It! Take The Whole Box!' 'i Second That Emotion!' Said Total.

Look, We're Trying To Explore Other Options To Your Retirement," The Whitecoat Said. "you Might Be Useful To Us In Other Ways." Because We're Not That Useful Dead,"nudge Said Thoughtfully. No," I Agreed. "well, Maybe As Doorstops." The Whitecat Made An "eew" Expression. Or Those Things In A Parking Lot That Show Where The Cars Should Stop," Suggested Iggy. He Closed His Eyes And Went Stiff, To Demonstrate What It Would Look Like. Also An Option.

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

Fang’s Hand Gently Smoothed My Hair Off My Neck. My Breath Froze In My Chest, And Every Sense Seemed Hyperalert. His Hand Stroked My Hair Again, So Softly, And Then Trailed Across My Neck And Shoulder And Down My Back, Making Me Shiver. I Looked Up. “what The Heck Are You Doing?” “helping You Change Your Mind,” He Whispered, And Then He Leaned Over, Tilted My Chin Up, And Kissed Me.

Every Other Person In The World Would Have Looked At It And Thought, Max Would Hate This. It Was Girly. It Was Beautiful. It Wasn't Made Of Titanium And Black Leather With Spikes On It. But It Seemed Exactly Right, In A Weird, Heart-fluttery Kind Of Way. And I Really Loved It.

You're Children. Don't You Want A Home, A Family?" "with, Like, Vitamin-fortified Cereal And Educational Television?

I Gave Him A Kick And He Stepped Back Onto The Third Rail. Exploding, Flaming Eraser! This Is Why Moms Tell You To Stay Away From The Third Rail, But It Sure Came In Handy This Time.

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?

Glaring At The Gasman, Ter Borcht Said, “your Time Is Coming To An End, You Pathetic Failure Of An Experiment. Vhat You Say Now Is How You Vill Be Remembered.” Gazzy’s Blue Eyes Flashed. “then You Can Remember Me Telling You To Kiss My-” “enough!” Ter Borcht Said.

I Never Read Detective Novels. I Started Out In Graduate School Writing A More Serious Book. Right Around That Time I Read 'the Day Of The Jackal' And 'the Exorcist'. I Hadn't Read A Lot Of Commercial Fiction, And I Liked Them.

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.

In The Dictionary, Next To The Word Stress, There Is A Picture Of A Midsize Mutant Stuck Inside A Dog Crate, Wondering If Her Destiny Is To Be Killed Or To Save The World. Okay, Not Really. But There Should Be.

Tears Were Dripping Onto My Dress, But I Wasn't Making Any Sound. There Was No Sound To Express Thid Kind Of Pain. I Didn't Want To Move, Didn't Want To Do Anything. Fang Was Not Waiting For Me Out In The Living Room. Tomorrow Morning, When I Woke Up, Fang Would Still Be Gone.

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

When Its True, When It's Right, Love Can Give You The Kind Of Joy That You Can't Get From Any Other Experience.

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

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.

Actually, I'd Already Briefed Him, Early This Morning. Since We Were Up At Six. Since, At Six, The Nurse Had Been Overcome With The Overwhelming Compulsion To Take Fang's Temperature Right Then.

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

Did You Know That Wasn’t Me, The Other Max?” I Asked. “yeah.” “when?” “right Away.” “how?” I Persisted. “we Look Identical. She Even Had Identical Scars And Scratches. She Was Wearing My Clothes. How Could You Tell Us Apart?” He Turned To Me And Grinned, Making My World Brighter. “she Offered To Cook Breakfast.

My Choices Were To Either Give In And Let Them Kill All Of Us Or Fight Back With Everything I Had. I Chose The Second One, ’cause I’m Just Funny That Way.

The Next Morning, Fang And I Broke Up. Now Let Me Get This Strait, I Broke Up With Him. A Split Second After He Broke Up With Me.

Gazzy Called Over To Me "i Can't See Anything!" "i Can't See Anything Either," Iggy Complained. "i'm Rolling My Eyes, Ig." I Had To Tell Him That Because He Couldn't See Me Do It, What With His Blindness And All.

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.

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

Max, You're The Last Of The Hybrids Who Still Has...a Soul.' ... 'she Doesn't Have Soul,' Gazzy Scoffed. 'have You Ever Seen Her Dance?

So You Have You Price," I Said With A Mouthful Of Crumbs. "your Soul For A Cookie." Fang Made Sure Dr. Martinez Wasn't Looking And Then Shot Me The Bird.

Is That Clear?" Said Borcht "as Clear As Pea Soup" I Said

"there Is One Bright Side To This," Said Fang. "yeah? What's That?" The New And Improved Erasers Would Mutilate Us Before They Killed Us? He Grinned At Me So Unexpectedly I Gorgot 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." My Shriek Of Appalled Rage Could Probably Be Heard In California, Or Maybe Hawaii.

We Went Back To The Weird Institute Building. At Night There Was A Lot More Activity. Erasers Coming In Non-stop. Nice Cars, Nice Clothes, Nice Smug Faces (that I Wanted To Smash!). -fang's Blog

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

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.

If You're In The Room, I Want To Be Next To You. If You're Gone, I Think About You. You're Who I Want To Talk To. In A Fight, I Want You At My Back. When We're Together The Sun Is Shining. When We're Apart, Everything Is In Shades Of Gray.

After All, Fnick Is Superman," Said Iggy. "shut Up, Jeff," I Said, But I Was Smiling. I Lifted Iggy's Fingers To My Face So That He Knew.

You're Lying Through Your Fangs," Iggy Accused. Fang Tried To Play Innocent--but "innocent Fang" Is An Oxymoron, So It Didn't Work.

Louisiana, The State Road Maintenance Forgot.

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?

Besides My Great Fashion Sense? I Play A Mean Harmonica.

Bad Stuff Happens. Sometimes It Makes No Sense At All. Sometimes Its Unfair. Sometimes, It Just Plain Sucks. Bad Stuff Happens Sometimes. Always Remember That, But Remember That You Have To Move On Somehow. You Just Pick Your Head Up And Stare At Something Beautiful Like The Sky, Or The Ocean, And You Move The Hell On.

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

I'm Very Emotional. I Do Feel Stuff, For Better Or Worse.

Jeb Climbed The Ladder Fang Had Just Lowered And I Indulged In A Moments Fantasy About Someone Slamming The Trapdoor On His Head.”-max

Max?” Said The Gasman. “are Those, Um, Rats?” Lovely. “yes, Those Do Appear To Be Either Rats Or Mice On Steroids,” I Said Briskly, Trying Not To Shriek And Climb The Walls Like A Girly-girl.

Six Seconds Should Be Rick Mofina's Breakout Thriller. It Moves Like A Tornado.

The Funny Thing About Facing Imminent Death Is That It Really Snaps Everything Else Into Perspective.

You Can Help Each Other, Max, Said The Unwelcome Voice. You're Perfect Complements To Each Other. "shut Up!" I Hissed Under My Breath, And Dylan Looked Startled. "i Didn't Say Anything." Gritting My Teeth, I Nodded. "no, I Know. It's Just-" I Decided To Take A Risk And Stare Him Down. "i Hear Voices, Okay? If You're Gonna Be Here, Get Used To It. Or Else Keep Your Distance.

Dear God," Said Nudge Under Her Breath, "i Want Real Parents. But I Want Them To Want Me Too. I Want Them To Love Me. I Already Love Them. Please See What You Can Do. Thanks Very Much. Love, Nudge." Okay, So I'm Not Saying We Were Pros At This Or Anything. (max Thoughts)

Unfortunately, Every Time Someone Said “debriefing,” The Entire Flock Had One Image: Someone’s Tighty-whities Disappearing In A Flash. We Were Smothering Our Giggles, But It Was Getting Harder. Coupled With The Whole “naval This, And Naval That,” With Its Undeniable Belly-button Connotations, We Were Essentially Turning Into A Sugar-jacked, Sleep-deprived Flock Of Incoherent, Silly, Recombinant-dna Goofballs. This Was Not Going To End Well.

A Lot Of Writers Fall In Love With Their Sentences Or Their Construction Of Sentences, And Sometimes That's Great, But Not Everybody Is Gabriel Garcia Marquez Or James Joyce. A Lot Of People Like To Pretend That They Are, And They Wind Up Not Giving People A Good Read Or Enlightening Them.

Falling In Love

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.

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

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.

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

Fang: "have You Guys Been Playing In The Toxic Waste Again? Been Bitten By A Radioactive Spider? Struck By Lightning? Drink A Super-soldier Serum?"

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