“I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own.”

“The characters' lives were so much more interesting than the lonely hearbeat of my own”

“The words tasted sour. I agreed with Patrick. In New Orleans, sometimes death did feel more like socializing. And he knew better than anyone else. He frequented postmortem parties daily, trolling for books.”

“I shut the bathroom door and caught sight of my face in the mirror. I had no idea how quickly it was to change, to fade. If I had, I would have stared at my reflection, memorizing it. It was the last time I would look into a real mirror for more than a decade.”

“The lie came out so easily it frightened me. I used to feel sick to my stomach when I heard Mother tell a lie. How can you do it? How do you live with yourself? I used to wonder. But here I was, lying to Miss Paulsen and smiling while doing it.”

“November 20. Andrius's birthday. I had counted the days carefully. I wished him a happy birthday when I woke and thought about him while hauling logs during the day. At night, I sat by the light of the stove, reading Dombey and Son. Krasivaya. I still hadn't found the word. Maybe I'd find it if I jumped ahead. I flipped through some of the pages. A marking caught my eye. I leafed backward. Something was written in pencil in the margin of 278.Hello, Lina. You've gotten to page 278. That's pretty good!I gasped, then pretened I was engrossed in the book. I looked at Andrius's handwritting. I ran my finger over this elongated letters in my name. Were there more? I knew I should read onward. I couldn't wait. I turned though the pages carefully, scanning the margins.Page 300:Are you really on page 300 or are you skipping ahead now?I had to stifle my laughter.Page 322:Dombey and Son is boring. Admit it.Page 364:I'm thinking of you.Page 412:Are you maybe thinking of me?I closed my eyes.Yes, I'm thinking of you. Happy birthday, Andrius.”

“Good men are often more practical than pretty " said Mother. "Andrius just happens to be both.”