“It said something about how much the soul or spirit in charge mattered.”

“I know who you are, no matter what you look like,” he said quietly, surprising me.”

“Great. Not only do I have an angry spirit guide, but an angry spirit guide with a vindictive streak and an unnatural knowledge of show tunes. Better and better already.”

“You better smile, or we're toast," I said. "Everything about you screams social malcontent with a grudge and a trunk full of weapons.”

“What is that phrase the kids use today? Oh, yeah. You’re his bitch, his spirit-world bitch”

“Teachers, parents, guidance counselors... all of them are always pushing this crap about how it's okay to be different, just be yourself. Don't give in to peer pressure, blah, blah, blah. The truth is, it's really only okay to be yourself if that self is within an accepted range of "normal." You like soccer instead of basketball, Johnny? Well, okay, I guess, so long as you still like sports. What's that, Susie, you want to wear the blue sweater instead of the red? You know we're all about expressing individuality here... so long as it's still a sweater.”

“I couldn't figure out how the system worked. And maybe that was the point. If you aren't sure how it works, it's a lot harder to game it.”