“You're always in the kitchen," Alianora said when she poked her head through the door a moment later. "Or the library. Don't you ever do anything but cook and read?”

“Wet towel under the door,' said Barry. 'It's what you do when you're smoking weed in a hotel and you don't want everyone calling security. You're always supposed to have a towel. I read about it in a guide for hitchhiking through the galaxy.”

“There," she said, waving her hands at the corridor. The expression of delight on her face was a very bad thing to see."You're wrong! You don't know where your parents are, do you?" she turned and looked at Coraline. "Now," she said, "you're going to stay here for ever and always.”

“Moments later, when she saw the look of control returning to his face, she said, "Don't ever get angry at a man for stating the truth.”

“What is a woman's power then?" she asked."I don't think we know.""When has a woman power because she's a woman? With her children, I suppose. For a while...""In her house, maybe."She looked around the kitchen. "But the doors are shut," she said, "the doors are locked.""Because you're valuable.""Oh yes. We're precious. So long as we're powerless.”

“She's an ugly little thing. No child should look like that. Pale and sour, like a glass of milk that's turned.""And so skinny!" the cook replied. "Never finishes her supper."Crouched beside the girl, the boy turned to her and whispered, "Why don't you eat?""Because everything she cooks tastes like mud.""Tastes fine to me.""You'll eat anything."They bent their ears back to the crack in the cupboard doors.A moment later the boy whispered, "I don't think you're ugly.""Shhhh!" the girl hissed. But hidden by the deep shadows of the cupboard, she smiled.”