“Two different things. Work is survival, and love sustains you.”

You never know when some small thing will lead to a big idea.

It’s the secret to happiness, you know. Only take what you need.

The ship’s manifest showed that they could read and write.

My mother was an avid readerShe loved books about romance.

But what Mom never told me is that along the way, you find sisters, and they find you. Girls are cool that way.

I don’t use a crap camera, I don’t eat junk, and I’m not going to a dance where the boys are bores.

Things that happen unwieldy. You cannot turn to her anymore, and it changes your life forever.

There are two kinds of people in this world.

The sterling moment of the present and the glorious future known only in our imaginations.

All you needed is what every girl needs, a good friend.

How dialogue sounds, what feels authentic and sounds real, what’s funny, how to build distinctive and original characters.

If you look around to find meaning in everything that happens you will end up disappointed.

A practical girl never pines; she takes action.

No one worries about you like your mother, and when she is gone, the world seems unsafe.

Book clubs are the best thing that has happened to the world of publishing.

I ask myself, If I knew all the answers, would it help? I lie awake and wonder why I don’t have parents and wonder what will become of my brother and me.