Sarah Beth Durst

“Last period of the day was new gym class. It was her only class that didn't include Evan, which was a relief. She should be functioning at a peak concentration, but he and his luminous eyes kept distracting her. First opprtunity I have, she thought. I'll bite him.”

“The lamb baa-ed vigorously as Mary dragged it into the manicure room, and Zel winced. She really should insist Julie come work, She could use the help, plus it would mean extra mother-daughter time--and, Zel thought wryly, I won't have to find a spare tower in the suburbs.Closing the appointment book, Zel went to finish trimming Linda's hair. "Did I hear a sheep out there?" Linda asked."Sick dog," Zel said. "Now, bend your head down." Linda obeyed and Zel ran her fingers through the back of her hair to check for evenness. All she needed to do was think of a way to make Julie come without Julie immediately assuming her mother was trying to ruin her life. Not an easy task.”

“She'd always been a little excitable, a little more passionate about books than your average person, but she was supposed to be -- she was a librarian, after all.”

“There's only one way in and one way out of this world.”

“Americans invented adolescence. It is not a natural phenomenon. Adolescence is a social construct, created by an urban-industrial society that keeps its young at home far past puberty. Teenage angst is a luxury if a successful modern human conceit that isn't condoned by our superior species.”

“Don't trust the fire, for it will burn you.Don't trust the ice, for it will freeze you.Don't trust the water, for it will drown you.Don't trust the air, for it will choke you.Don't trust the earth, for it will bury you.Don't trust the trees, for they will rip you,rend you, tear you, kill you dead.”

“Coming home is hard." Ven said."It shouldn't be" Daleina said. "They love me. I love them. It should be easy.""Once you leave, it's never easy again. Or at least it's never the same. You're not the same. You can't expect them to be.She nodded. "Sometimes they feel like strangers. And still, I'd die to protect them.”