“There's greatness in him. A magnitude of spirit.”

“That was great. They’re calling him Buttwatcher now. Just “Watcher” in front of the teachers, but everybody knows what he’s watching.”

“Wiggin really doesn't care as much about himself as he does about these other kids who aren't worth five minutes of his time.And yet this may be the very trait that makes everyone focus on him. Maybe this is why all those stories Sister Carlotta told him, Jesus always had a crowd around him.Maybe this is why I'm so afraid of Wiggen. Because he's the alien, not me. He's the unintelligible one, the unpredictable one. He's the one who doesn't do things for sensible, predictable reasons. I'm going to survive, and once you know that, there's nothing more to know about me. Him, though, he could do anything.”

“Nobody ever completely means what they say. Even when they think they're telling the truth, there's always something hidden behind their words.”

“There's only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can't ignore you.”

“Oh, Val," said Father. "All you have to do is live your life, and everyone around you will be happier.""No greatness, then.""Val," said Mother, "goodness trumps greatness any day.""Not in the history books," said Valentine."Then the wrong people are writing history, aren't they?" said Father.”

“Oh no, real life is escape. The great terrors, the horrors--we hope--of your life come from reading fiction.”