wanting what you could not have led to misery and madness

They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite

She had loved him for such a long time, she thought. How was it that she did now know him at all?

Astriola. That IS demon pox. You had evidence that demon pox existed and you didnt mention it to me! Et tu, Brute!' He rolled up the paper and hit Jem over the head with it.

She had never imagined she had the power to make someone else so happy. And not a magical power, either--a purely human one.

I thought... that we could at least talk about books.

Lies and secrets, Tessa, they are like a cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind.

Jem put the full force of himself into each smile, so that he seemed to be smiling with his eyes, his heart, his whole being.

Being Jem, Tessa reflected, must be a great deal like being the owner of a thouroughbred dog that liked to bite your guests. You had to have a hand on his collar constantly.

You had to know a person well to make them laugh like that.

We live and breathe words.

Conflict and character are the heart of good fiction, and good mystery has both of those in spades.

I knew it was Peter playing. I fancied he was trying to tell me something - an absurd idea, but it persisted - 'I may not be able to spell, but just you listen to this.

What people see in the news are places where things have not going so well.

The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity.

I don't like fun, it upsets me.

Every sovereign country has the right to control its borders, and should. The idea that anyone would sneak over our borders without proper documentation to me is absolutely abhorrent.

When I feel like I'm in a rut, I remember it's the little things in life that are important, like riding a bike with a friend or eating ice cream with my baby niece.

I think the market driven economic system is the most productive system, but to have that work in the world, you've got to also have social investments to go along with that.

I think I may have failed at a lot of things, but the one thing I can say, and that I'm proud of, is that I am a good parent.