“Cities fell. Earth opened. Planets tilted. Stars plummeted. And the awful silence.”

“Sometimes I wake up at night in a panic. Wondering: What will my life be like? And sometimes I even wonder: Who am I? What am I doing here, on this planet, in this city, in this house? And it gives me the shivers, makes me panic.”

“Archie became absolutely still, afraid that the rapid beating of his heart might betray his sudden knowledge, the proof of what he'd always suspected, not only of Brother Leon but most grownups, most adults: they were vulnerable, running scared, open to invasion.”

“They murdered him.”

“Ray Bannister started to build the guillotine the day Jerry Renault returned to Monument.”

“It doesn't matter how big the body, it's what you do with it.”

“It's amazing that the heart makes no noise when it cracks.”