“It was like the moment before you open a present, still hidden inside its box and wrappings; while you're waiting to find out what it is, the eagerness and impatience and curiosity and anticipation grip you in an even stronger, more thrilling way than you feel after you find out what's inside.”

“Sometimes what wishes do...especially the big, big wishes, is churn up all the confusion and longing that sloshes around forever inside of you.”

“Lucky discovered that laughing was like crying in the sense that sometimes you cannot stop. And it's a catching disease, because when another person is spurting and gasping it makes you start again even after you have taken deep gulps of air and stopped looking at the other laughing person.”

“It made her feel discouraged, like if you took the word apart into two sections of dis and couraged. It was getting harder and harder to stay couraged.”

“Pixy Stix comfort you when you are in a sad or desperate situation, and it is always good to have some on hand.”

“Sometimes we get this great gift, man, and we just take it for granted. We only figure it out, how much we lost, when it's gone. —Short Sammy”

“When you are sad, your heart pumps the tragedy all through your body and fills your mind with the story of your suffering, and you tell that story to yourself over and over.”