"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 in Strangewood.”

“It was a beautiful day to grow up.”

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

“He was still as kind as he had always been, but there was a distance in his eyes now that made her want to cry.”

“A girl looking for emotion could starve in L.A.”

“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.”