Christopher Golden

"It seemed like every month that went by, every day older, life became more complicated. The rule for growing up seemed to be that no choice, no decision worth making was without some cost."

"Jenna Blake was still alive because she'd been willing to risk looking stupid."

"Strangewood was never silent. It was never supposed to be. There was such life and color in the wood and in the creatures who lived there that silence would be tantamount to death. It was very silent …"

"And then music. Wind chimes. And the sound of someone playing a violin. A fiddle. Or maybe just the music of a little dragon's wings. Maybe."

"A girl looking for emotion could starve in L.A."

"And even the most pleasant of dreams could be painful under the light of the morning sun."

"Instead, it had slipped into her subconscious, and worked its way beneath her skin."

"Kreske had more authority, but he was a moron."