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We're Still Expected To Color Within The Lines Of Accepted Femininity, And Women Who Step Out Of Those Lines Are Usually Attacked, Whether Verbally Or Physically.

-Libba Bray

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We're Still Expected To

Libba Bray

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We're Still Expected To Color Within The Lines Of Accepted Femininity, And Women Who Step Out Of Those Lines Are Usually Attacked, Whether Verbally Or Physically.

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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.

They Would Place Their Hands Together Inside The Circle So That They Could Walk In Each Other's Dreams. It Forged A Bond That Could Not Be Broken. The Circle Represents Love In Eternity. For There Is No Beginning And No End.

No, I Call. Come Back. I'm Here, He Says. But I Can't See. It's Too Bright. You Can't Hold Back The Light, Gemma. I'm Here. Trust Me.

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.

What You Want Can Be Yours. But You Must First Know What It Is You Want.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

There Is An Ancient Tribal Proverb I Once Heard In India. It Says That Before We Can See Properly We Must First Shed Our Tears To Clear The Way.

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?

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

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?

I Refuse To Let The Past Find Me Here.

Maybe That's What Real Friendship Is -- Getting So Used To People That You Need To Be Annoyed By Them.

Oh, I've A Love, A True, True Love, Who Waits Upon Yon Shore... And If My Love Won't Be My Love, Then I Will Live No More.

Men Have Feelings Too, You Know. You Bruise The Petals Of My Manflower.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Petra Turned To Her. "everybody Lies About Who They Are. Name One Person Here Who Isn't Doing That And I Will Drop Out Right Now!" Shanti Felt That Snake Of Truth Coil Around Her Legs, Threatening To Squeeze. "i Didn't Mean..." "no One Ever Does." Petra Said, Shoving The Baton Back At Shanti.

Gemma~was He Really Looking At Me That Way? Kartik~what Way? Gemma~like A Piece Of Ripe Fruit? Katrik~you'd Best Be On Your Guard With Him.

Reminds Us That Greatness Lies Even In The Smallest Of Moments, In The Humblest Of Hearts, And We Shall, Each Of Us, Be Called To Greatness. Whether We Shall Rise To Meet It Or Let It Slip Away Is The Challenge Put Before Us All.

Evie Wanted To Cry. From Fear. From Exhaustion, Yes. But Mostly From The Cruel Uselessness, The Damned Stupid Arbitrariness Of It All.

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

Theta Blew Out Another Plume Of Cigarette Smoke. “not Interested. Love’s Messy, Kiddo. Let Those Other Girls Get Moony-eyed And Goofy. Me? I Got Plans.

Cigarette Smoke

Reason Was For Suckers And Presbyterians.

You And I, We Must Carry On, Gemma. I Cannot Afford The Luxury Of Love. I Must Marry Well. And Now I Must Look After You. It Is My Duty." "if You Wish To Suffer, You Do So Of Your Own Free Will, Not On My Behalf. Or Father's Or Grandmama's Or Anyone's. You Are A Fine Physician, Thomas. Why Is That Not Enough?" "because It Isn't," He Says With A Rare Candor. "only This And The Hope Of Nothing More? A Quiet Respectability With No True Greatness Or Heroism In It, With Only My Reputation To Recommend Me. So You See, Gemma, You Are Not The Only One Who Cannot Rule Her Own Life.

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.

Our Mouths And Bodies Speak For Us In A New Language As The Trees Shake Loose A Rain Of Petals That Stick To Our Slickness Like Skins We Will Wear Forever. And Just Like That, I Am Changed.

My Misery Is Reaching Epidemic Proportions.

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

It's Always Darkest Before The Ultimate Sparkle.

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

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.

Does My New Feminism Make Me Look Fat?

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.

Dammit!" "what?" Gonzo Sounds Panicked. "we're Out Of Gas." "you're Shithenging Me." "i Shithenge You Not.

There Is A Dualism Inherent In Democracy--opposing Forces Pushing Against Each Other, Always. Culture Clashes. Different Belief Systems. All Coming Together To Create This Country. But This Balance Takes A Great Deal Of Energy.

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

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.

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.

But The Past Cannot Be Changed, And We Carry Our Choices With Us, Forward, Into The Unknown. We Can Only Move On.

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

We've Left The Moment. It's Gone. We're Somewhere Else Now, And That's Okay. We've Still Got That Moment With Us Somewhere, Deep In Our Memory, Seeping Into Our Dna. And When Our Cells Get Scattered , Whenever That Happens, This Moment Will Still Exist In Them. Those Cells Might Be The Biulding Block Of Something New. A Planet Or Star Or A Sunflower, A Baby. Maybe Even A Cockroach. Who Knows? Whatever It Is, It'll Be A Part Of Us, This Thing Right Here And Now, And We'll Be A Part Of It.

We Are English, And I Expect You To Behave As Such. No More Crying.

This Is Going To Make Such A Great Story: How I Nursed A Pirate Back To Health And My Love Saved Him," Miss Ohio Said With A Contented Sigh. "and Then We Can Have Our Own Reality Show About Our Relationship." - "beauty Queens

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.

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.

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.

Free The Snow Globes!

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

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

Greetings, Ax Murderer! I Was Just Wondering How You Like Your Eggs?

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.

When You Peeled Back The Skin, You Were Dealing With Bone And Muscle, Blood And Nerve Endings. It Was All The Same. She Liked The Beautiful Logic Of The Circulatory System, The Elegance Of The Neurological, And The Fierce Warrior Spirit Of The Heart. The Body Had Rules And It Had Quirks.

I'm Floating Inside My Skin. I Could Go On Floating Like This For Days. Right Now, The Real World With Its Heartbreak And Disappointments Is Just A Pulse Against The Protective Membrane We've Drunk Ourselves Into. It's Somewhere Outside Us, Waiting." A Great And Terrible Beauty, Page 141, By

I Told Myself It Was The Snow—she Couldn’t Possibly Get To Philadelphia On The Roads. I Told Myself A Hundred Lies. Children Do That. It’s Amazing The Sorts Of Things You’ll Make Yourself Believe.

Hot Off The Presses, Today’s Headlines: The Love Of Your Life Does Not Approve Of My Wanton Flapper Ways,” Evie Said In A Voice Of Affected Mystery. “really, Mabesie. You Might Want To Reconsider—he Is A Bit Of A Killjoy.

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

That's What Living In Their World Is-a Big Lie. An Illusion Where Everyone Looks The Other Way And Pretends That Nothing Unpleasant Exists At All, No Goblins Of The Dark, No Ghosts Of The Soul.

To Those Who Will See, The World Waits.

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.

Just Because You're Funny Doesn't Mean You Get To Be Cruel.

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

When I Dream, I Dream Of Him.

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

Please, I'm A Transgender Former Boy-bander. You Think I Don't Know How To Defend Myself?

I'm A Librarian, Not An Oracle.

Sometimes We Seek That Which We Are Not Yet Ready To Find.

The Hand You Hold The Longest Is Your Own.

There Is No Greater Power On This Earth Than Story.” Will Paced The Length Of The Room. “people Think Boundaries And Borders Build Nations. Nonsense—words Do. Beliefs, Declarations, Constitutions—words. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.” Will Grabbed The Sheaf Of Newspaper Clippings He Kept In A Stack On His Desk. “this, And These”—he Gestured To The Library’s Teeming Shelves—“they’re A Testament To The Country’s Rich Supernatural History.

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

We All Walk In A Land Of Dreams. For What Are We But Atoms And Hope, A Handful Of Stardust And Sinew? We Are Weary Travelers Trying To Find Our Way Home On A Road That Never Ends. Am I A Part Of Your Dream? Or Are You But A Part Of Mine?

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.

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.

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

No One Asks How Or What I Am Doing. They Could Not Care Less. We’re All Looking Glasses, We Girls, Existing Only To Reflect Their Images Back To Them As They’d Like To Be Seen. Hollow Vessels Of Girls To Be Rinsed Of Our Own Ambitions, Wants, And Opinions, Just Waiting To Be Filled With The Cool, Tepid Water Of Gracious Compliance. A Fissure Forms In The Vessel. I’m Cracking Open.

Really, Being A Librarian Is A Much More Dangerous Job Than You Realize.

Oh, Hello," Dr. M Says, Shaking Balder's Hand. "wonderful Costume. I'm A Bit Of A Role Player Myself On The Weekends. Tell Me, Where Did You Get The Helmet?" It Was Forged In The North, Blessed By The Hands Of Odin, Given To Me By My Mother, Frigg," Balder Answers. Lovely. I Got Mine On The Internet.

She Wished She Were As Inconsequential As The Ghosts In Her Dreams.

Inconsequential

The Glow Dies Down, And She's Standing At The End Of My Bed--the One Who's Been Following Me Around Leaving Feather Messages. I Take In The Torn Fishnets, Plaid Mini-kilt, Shiny, Riveted Breastplate With Leather Straps At The Sides And A Worn Great Temolo Decal Near The Left Shoulder. Her Wings Are A Crazy Black-and-white-checkered Pattern, Like They've Been Spray-painted At A Body Shop To Look Like Hipster Sneakers.

Black And White

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

So, Now I've Been To See A Drug Counselor Who Told Me I Need To Lay Off The Drugs And Talk About My Feelings, And A Shrink Who Heard What I Had To Say And Immediately Put Me On Drugs.

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

And Just As I Begin To Believe That All Is Well, There Is Some Subtle Change In The Light. The Room Takes Its True Shape. I Fight To Go Back To That Blissful Ignorance, But It Is Too Late. The Dull Pain Of Truth Weights My Soul, Pulling It Under. I Am Left Hopelessly Awake.

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

Can We Really Conquer Chaos So Easily? If That Were So, I Should Be Able To Prune The Pandemonium Of My Own Soul Into Something Neat And Tidy Rather Than This Maze Of Wants And Needs And Misgivings That Has Me Forever Feeling As If I Cannot Fit Into The Landscape Of Things.

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?

Because 'you're Perfect Just The Way You Are,' Is What Your Guidance Counselor Says. And She's An Alcoholic.

The Police Have Asked For My Help. There's Been A Murder." "a Murder! Oh, My. Let Me Just Change My Shoes," Evie Said Excitedly. "it Won't Be A Minute.

In Books, The Truth Makes Everything Good And Fine. The Good Prevail. The Wicked Are Punished. There Is Happiness. But It's Not Like That Really, Is It?" "no," I Say. "i Suppose It Only Makes Everything Known.

Without Further Warning, The Sky Opens Up And Cries.

Goodbye," I Whisper At Last, When It No Longer Matters And There Is No One To Hear It But The Window.

He Said To Tell You To Remember Your Heart In All Things, That It Is Where Your Honor And Your Destiny Will Be Found. Does It Mean Anything To You?' It Is Something He Would Say From Time To Time-that The Eye Could Be Misled, But That The Heart Was True.

Chin Held High, Miss Ohio Beamed At An Imagined Crowd. "i Want To Be A Motivational Speaker." "what Are You Going To Motivate People To Do?" Smile Still In Place, She Cut Her Eyes At Adina. "you Know. Motivational ... Stuff.

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.

The Uncertainty Of Our Future Is Nothing More Than A Fog Of Breath On A Windowpane.

- So My Own Sister Will Not Promote Me? Speaking Of Which, Weren't You Supposed To Find Me A Beautiful Future Wife With A Small Fortune? Have You Had Any Success On That Front? - Yes - I Have Warned Them All.

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.

When The World Moves Forward Too Fast For Some People, They Try To Pull Us All Back With Their Fear.

The World Is A Lie...not You And Me.

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

There's No Time To Be Modest. Reason Will Not Work Here. Without Warning, I Kiss Kartik. His Lips, Pressed Firmly Against Mine, Are A Surprise. They Are Warm, Light As Breath, Firm As The Give Of A Peach Against My Mouth. A Scent Like Scorched Cinnamon Hangs In The Air, But I'm Not Falling Into Any Vision. It's His Smell In Me. A Smell That Makes My Stomach Drop Through My Feet. A Smell That Pushes All Thought Out Of My Head And Replaces It With An Overpowering Hunger For More.

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.

Why Should We Girls Not Have The Same Privileges As Men? Why Do We Police Ourselves So Stringently- Whittling Each Other Down With Cutting Remarks Or Holding Ourselves Back From Greatness With A Harness Woven Of Fear And Shame And Longing? If We Do Not Deem Ourselves Worthy First, How Shall We Ever Ask For More?

May I Suggest That You All Read? And Often. Believe Me, It's Nice To Have Something To Talk About Other Than The Weather And The Queen's Health. Your Mind Is Not A Cage. It's A Garden. And It Requires Cultivating.

There Is Nothing More Terrifying Than The Absoluteness Of One Who Believes He's Right.

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

I'm Like Everyone Else In This Stupid, Bloody, Amazing World. I'm Flawed. Impossibly So. But Hopeful. I'm Still Me.

When You Looked Up To The Sky And Cried 'why?' Sometimes The Sky Shrugged, Yet Other Times It Answered With Warm Assurance Of Linked Hands.

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

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

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.

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

I Am Creating An Atmosphere! Oh, Unc, We’ve Finally Got Bodies In This Joint! Paying Bodies. We Could Have A Good Racket Going Here.” “i’m Not Interested In A ‘racket.’ I’m An Academic.” “that’s Okay, Unc. I Won’t Hold It Against You.

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.

We're Still Expected To Color Within The Lines Of Accepted Femininity, And Women Who Step Out Of Those Lines Are Usually Attacked, Whether Verbally Or Physically.

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

He Frowns. "a Dance With The Carnivorous Felicity? Why? Has She Eaten All The Other Available Gentlemen?

Clothing Left On The Bed Unfolded. Books Stained With Coffee Spots. Tabs Not Paid Until The Last Possible Second. Boys Kissed And Then Forgotten In A Week’s Time.

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.

I'll Try To Communicate, Taylor Said. She Spoke Slowly And Deliberately. Hello! We Need Help. Is Your Village Close? My Village Is Denver. And I Think It's A Long Way From Here. I'm Nicole Ade. Miss Colorado. We Have A Colorado Where We're From Too! Tiara Said. She Swiveled Her Hips, Spread Her Arms Wide, Then Brought Her Hands Together Prayer-style And Bowed. Kipa Aloha. Nicole Stared. I Speak English. I'm American. Also, Did You Learn Those Moves From Barbie's Hawaiian Vacation Dvd? Ohmigosh, Yes! Do Your People Have That, Too?

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

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

Retribution Is A Dog Chasing Its Tail.

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

Discovering Who You Are

There Are Times When I Wish I Could Go Back And Change The Course Of My Life. Make Different Choices...but The Past Cannot Be Changed, And We Carry Our Choices With Us, Forward, Into The Unknown. We Can Only Move On. Do You Remember That I Told You That At Spence?

I Am A Jumble Of Passions, Misgivings, And Wants. It Seems That I Am Always In A State Of Wishing And Rarely In A State Of Contentment.

Everything Is Randomly Connected.

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.

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!

I Will Tell You The Story Of How We Found Ourselves In A Realm Where Dreams Are Formed, Destiny Is Chosen, And Magic Is As Real As A Handprint In The Snow.

We Sit And Listen And Are Enthralled Anew, For Good Stories, It Seems, Never Lose Their Magic.

Felicity Ignores Us. She Walks Out To Them, An Apparition In White And Blue Velvet, Her Head Held High As They Stare In Awe At Her, The Goddess. I Don't Know Yet What Power Feels Like. But This Is Surely What It Looks Like, And I Think I'm Beginning To Understand Why Those Ancient Women Had To Hide In Caves. Why Our Parents And Suitors Want Us To Behave Properly And Predictably. It's Not That They Want To Protect Us; It's That They Fear Us.

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

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

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.

There Are No Wrong Decisions ― Only Different Ones.

No One Can Steal Our Dream.

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.

Because It Is Morning, It Is Morning, And There Is So Much To See.

...dreams Were Dreams And Reality Was Reality And She Felt People Were Better Off Understanding The Difference.

It's As If I've Inherited A Skin I Cannot Quite Fit, And So I Walk About Constantly Pulling And And Tugging, Pinning And Pruning, Trying Desperately To Fill It Out, Hoping That No One Will Look At Me Struggling And Say, 'that One There- She's A Fraud, Look How She Doesn't Fit At All.

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.

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

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.

We've Barley Stepped Into The Bright Glow Of The Realms When Everything Goes Dark.

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!

Things Aren't Good Or Bad In And Of Themselves. It's What We Do With Them That Makes Them So.

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

Prohibition? I Drink To Its Health Whenever I Can.

People Aren't Always What You Want Them To Be

Heaven's Brightest And Best-loved Angel, Who Was Cast Out For Inspiring A Rebellion Against God. Having Lost Heaven, Lucifer And His Rebel Angels Vowed To Continue Fighting Here On Earth." "i Don't Understand Why He Had To Fight. He Was Already In Heaven." "true. But He Wasn't Content To Serve. He Wanted More." "he Had All He Could Ask For, Didn't He?" Ann Asks. "exactly." Miss Moore States. "he Had To Ask. He Was Dependent Upon Someone Else's Whim. It's A Terrible Thing To Have No Power Of One's Own. To Be Denied.

Women Who Have Power Are Always Feared.

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.

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.

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

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

They Swoon Over Tom, Who Preens For Them, Bowing, Which Sets Them To Blushing And Giggling. God Help Us All.

The Mere Suggestion Of Fame And Fortune Casts A Glamour All Its Own. It Is Rather Alarming How Quickly People Will Turn Someone Else's Fiction Into Fact In Order To Support Their Own Fictions Of Themselves.

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?

It's Knowing I'll Never Have What She Has--a Beauty So Powerful It Brings Things To You. I Fear I Will Always Have To Chase Things I Want. I'll Always Have To Wonder Whether I'm Truly Wanted Or Whether I've Just Been Settled For.

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.

If You Tell Them What They Want To Hear, They Don't Bother To Try To See.

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

I Think About Dying Every Day, Because I Can't Stop Thinking About Living.

She Loved Attention. It Was Like A Glass Of The Best Champagne—bubbly And Intoxicating—and As With Champagne, She Always Wanted More Of It. Still, She Didn’t Want To Seem Like An Easy Mark. “if You Must Know, I’ve Come To Join A Convent,” Evie Said, Testing Him.

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.

There Was Something About The Island That Made The Girls Forget Who They Had Been. All Those Rules And Shalt Nots. They Were No Longer Waiting For Some Arbitrary Grade. They Were No Longer Performing. Waiting. Hoping. They Were Becoming. They Were.

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.

I Invited Myself. Thought This Table Needed Some Class.

Because You Can't Keep Up The Illusion Forever," I Say. "no One Has That Much Magic.

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.

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.

I've Had So Many Bikini Waxes, I Cry Every Time I See A Popsicle Stick.

In Them, She Saw The Sham Of Her Life Laid Out Like A Book, The Foolish Belief That She, That Anyone, Could Escape The Consequences Of This World, Could Flee From Death. That Was The Deceit. The True Serpent In The Garden.

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.

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

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.

...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.

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.

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.

I Feel Like I Swallowed A Magritte. Like On The Inside, I'm Made Of Clouds And Floating Eyes, Green Apples, And Slowly Rising Men In Bowler Hats.

We're Comfortable With Women In Certain Roles But Not Comfortable With Women Expressing Anger Or Fully Accepting Their Power. The Most Daring Question A Woman Can Ask Is, 'what Do I Want?'

If God Has Nothing Better To Do Than Punish Schoolgirls For A Bit Of Tomfoolery, Then I've No Use For God.

Ain't That A Sight? With All The Things We Know And Learn, We Still Ain't Touched The Big Mysteries -- Where We Come From, Where We Go Next, Why We Even Her. And When Something Truly Miraculous Happens, We Run And Hide In Our Caves. We Deny.

Truth Casts A Spell Of Its Own.

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?

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.

The Trouble With Morning Is That It Comes Well Before Noon.

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali

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