“Maybe being home schooled, Carter didn’t realize that “test” is normally a bad thing.”

“My name is Carter Kane. I'm fourteen and my home is a suitcase.”

“My face felt like my normal face, as if that part of me hadn’t transformed into a bird. [Fine, Sadie. Call me the Carter-headed chicken. Happy?]”

“This is Graceland. Home of the most famous musician in the world.”“Michael Jackson lived here?”“No, dummy,” Carter said. “Elvis Presley.”

“I thought about all the things I was suddenly able to do—like fight with a sword and summon a magical shell of armor. Those were not things I covered in home school.”

“After my bad experience as a kite, I simply refused to go about as a glowing Sadie-headed chicken. That’s fine for Carter, but I have standards.”

“The first thing we pulled out was a lump of white gunk.“Wax,” Carter pronounced.“Fascinating.”