Wendy Mass

“Life is short...eat desert first.”

“and as streams of light fan out behind the darkened sun like the wings of a butterfly, i realize that i never saw true beauty until now.”

“comparing what you see during an eclipse to the darkness at night is like comparing an ocean to a teardrop.”

“My eyes are bright, my hair has come loose from its ribbon, and Stella's scarf is waving around my neck. But that's not what I see when I look at the picture. I see three unlikely friends holding hands. And Ryan, Kenny, and Melanie are standing behind us, rapt.And in the sky above us, I see a miracle.”

“Just as I suspected, my room does look different, post-eclipse. It looks smalled, like it can't contain me anymore.After all, I've got a whole new world to see.”

“And when he [the author of the universe] had compounded the whole, he divided it up into as many souls as there are stars, and allotted each soul to a star. And mounting them on their stars, as if on chariots, he showed them the nature of the universe and told them the laws of their destiny.- "Timaeus" by Plato 427-347 B.C.”

“So we stand there, part of a crowd a thousand people strong, beaming up at the sky with wonder. I knew with a sudden certainty that wherever I am in the future - up in my treehouse, alone in the school cafeteria, or trying to figure out what my teachers are talking about, a part of me will always be right here, right now, wish that giant eye in the sky shining down on me, telling me it's going to be alright.”

“Life is short, have dessert first.”

“Nothing nice you ever do for anyone is for no reason.”

“Reach for the stars and even if you miss you will land among the stars”

“My sweat smells like peanut-butter.”

“So softly Lizzy has to lean over to hear me, I say, 'I can't face the world until I know why I'm here.'You're kidding me.'I shake my head vehemently. 'No. I need to figure out my purpose. Until I do, what's the use of getting up?”

“A wise man once remarked that we can count how many seeds are in the apple, but not how many apples are in the seed.”

“Whoa!" she says as I plow into her. " What are you DOING? Get off me!" I hang on tight. "Can't a girl just hug her big sister?" She stops fighting me. "Are you dying? Am I dying? Did Grandma die? I laugh. "No one died." "Then get off!”

“Do you ever think if people heard our conversations they'd lock us up?"All the time.”

“You take the flotsam," I tell her, "I'll take the jetsam."You always get the jetsam,"she says pretending to pout. "Do you ever think if poeple heard our conversations they'd lock us up?"All the time.”

“It's not an old book, or a treasure map. Nope. Staring up at me was a pile of rocks.”

“Maybe some things aren't meant to be known. maybe there just meant to be accepted.”

“Everyone thinks I named my cat Mango because of his orange eyes, but that's not the case. I named him Mango because the sounds of his purrs and his wheezes and his meows are all various shades of yellow-orange.”

“A fight is going on inside me," said an old man to his son. "It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you." The son thought about it for a minute and then asked, "Which wolf will win?" The old man replied simply, "The one you feed.”

“fMr. Oswald places the telescope on the desk in front of us. "This," he says proudly, "Is a Broadhurst. It was the most powerful telescope for backyard veiwing in its day."Which was when?" Lizzy asks.The nineteen thirties," he replies. "Isn't it a beauty? On a clear night, you could see the whole entire solar system with this one."Unable to stop myself, I blurt out, "My very energetic mother just served us nine pizzas."Lizzy gawks at me like I have two heads. "He's lost it; he's finally lost it. I knew this day would come."Mr. Ozwald chuckles. "Jeremy has just given us a mnemonic device for remembering the order of the planets.”