“There were two things a girl learned to do simultaneously at a very young age: knee a guy in the crotch and scream at the top of her lungs.”

“Hazel screamed at the top of her lungs, but it was a scream of delight. For the first time in her life-in her two lives-she felt absolutely unstoppable.”

“Finally, the lock clicked and she tugged the secret door open. A rotten stench hit her like a fist. She drew away. The boy at her side recoiled, afraid. Sarah fell to her knees. Sarah could not speak, she could only quiver, her fingers covering her eyes, her nose, blocking out the smell.....She sank to her knees again and she screamed at the top of her lungs, she screamed, for her mother, for her father, screamed for Michel.”

“We were still at the age when girls are years older than guy, and the guys grow up by doing their best when the girls need them to.”

“I have the overwhelming urge to pull her up out of her chair and kiss her in front of everyone, then scream my resignation at the top of my lungs.”

“Age gives you an excuse for not being very good at things that you were not very good at when you were young.”