“She flashes me a smile so devastating that it could even make an atheist believe in God.”

“There’s something so great about this,” she whispers. About what?” I whisper back.About this,” she whispers. About being outlaws. It’s just you and me—against the world.”

“Grace's eyes bigger than DVD's,Rachel's mouth hanging open so wideyou could reach right in andperform a tonsillectomy.”

“Madame Vbegins the lessonby reading aloud the first stanzaof a famous French poem:Il pleure dans mon coeurComme il pleut sur la ville;Quelle est cette langueurQui penetre mon coeur?Then she looks upand without any warningshe calls on me to translate it.I swallow hard, and try:"It's raining in my heartlike it's raining in the city.What is this sadness that pierces my heart?"Saying these words out loud,right in front of the whole class,makes me feellike I'm not wearing any clothes.”

“I wish he hadn't gone and cut his hair.He looks about eight years old.His ears have tripled in size.Everyone's started calling him Dumbo.Which wouldn't be so bad,except they've started calling meMrs. Dumbo.You can't even tellhe's got curly hair anymore.There's nothing leftto run my fingers through.Just this weirdblond AstroTurfsprouting out of his skull.”

“We've turned off all the lightsin the living roomto make hand shadows.We've got thisbig flashlightaimed at the wall.I make the silhouette of my handinto a duck.Robin makes his into a rabbit.Now my duck kisses his rabbitAnd-POOF!- it turns intoa turkey.And for some reasonthis strikes usas hysterically funny.But you probably had to be there.”

“And I flat out refuseto have one of those livesthat I wouldn’t even wantto read about.”