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If someone had told Allie that she would commit a premeditated act of murder, she would not have believed it. She would have spouted off all the reasons how she could never be capable of such a thing - that no matter how dire the circumstances, she would find a better way. She was so naive, so arrogant to think that the laws of necessity and unthinkable circumstance could not apply to her. She could tell herself that this was an act of mercy, but that would be a lie. This was an act of war. An act of terrorism. It was nothing less than an assassination.If I do this, Allie told herself, I am no better than Mary. I will have sunk to the worst possible place a person can go. After this moment, I will be a cold-blooded killer and it can never be taken back.So the question was, did Allie Johnson have the strength to sacrifice all that was left of her innocence if it meant she might save the world? By Neal Shusterman Act Allie Murder Commit Premeditated

And," added Mikey. "she's my sister."The others looked at him for a moment, and broke out laughing."Yeah, yeah," Squirrel scoffed, "and the McGill is my cousin."Now Allie burst out laughing, which made Mikey more annoyed."If the McGill was your cousin," Mikey said, "I can guarantee he'd disown you. By Neal Shusterman Yeah Mikey Added Squirrel Mcgill

If you're a guy, I'm sure you already know that their most famous product is that litle plastic stariner at the bototm of urinals, and you probably still laugh every time you look down and see PISHER written in happy bold letters, like maybe it was to remind you why you were standing there. By Neal Shusterman Pisher Guy Urinals Letters Famous

Cowards hide [ ... ] but warriors lie and wait [ ... ] the only difference is whether you're motivated by fear or purpose. By Neal Shusterman Cowards Hide Wait Purpose Warriors

No true hero ever believes that they are one. By Neal Shusterman True Hero

The way I see it, truth only looks good when you're looking at it from far away. It's kind of like that beautiful girl you see on the street when you're riding past in the bus ... there she is, this amazing girl walking by on the street, and you think if you could only get off this stupid bus and introduce yourself to her, your life would change.The thing is, she's not as perfect as you think, and if you ever got off the bus to introduce yourself, you'd find out ... This girl is truth. She's not so pretty, not so nice. But then, once you get to know her, all that stuff doesn't seem to matter. By Neal Shusterman Bus Girl Good Street Truth

You see, Risa, survival is a dance between our needs and our consciences. When the need is great enough, and the music loud enough, we can stomp conscience into the ground.'Risa closes her eyes. She knows the dance ... 'It's the way of the world,' Divan continues. 'Look at unwinding, society's grand gavotte of denial. There will, no doubt, come a time when people look to one another and say, 'My God, what have we done?' But I don't believe it will happen any time soon. Until then, the dance must have music; the chorus must have its voice. Give it that voice, Risa. Play for me.'But Risa's fingers offer him nothing, and the Orgao Organico holds the obdurate, unyielding silence of the grave. By Neal Shusterman Risa Dance Survival Voice Music

[Dad] So your intentions were good. That's what matters.[Anthony] But isn't, like, the road to hell paved with good intentions?Yeah, well, so's the road to heaven. And if you spend too much time thinking about where those good intentions are taking you, you know where you end up?Jersey?I was thinking 'nowhere,' but you get the point. By Neal Shusterman Dad Good Intentions Anthony Yeah

How many kids are in the Graveyard?""A bunch.""Who sends your supplies?""George Washington. Or is it Abraham Lincoln? I forget.""How often do you receive new arrivals?""About as often as you beat your wife. By Neal Shusterman Graveyard George Washington Bunch Supplies

So Connor stands there with secret anticipation each time there's a group of new arrivals, hoping beyond hope he'll find that self-righteous, self-important, pain-in-the-ass Lev still alive. By Neal Shusterman Selfimportant Lev Connor Arrivals Hoping

If you've ever studied mortal age cartoons, you'll remember this one. A coyote was always plotting the demise of a smirking long-necked bird. The coyote never succeeded; instead, his plans always backfired. He would blow up, or get shot, or splat from a ridiculous height.And it was funny.Because no matter how deadly his failure, he was always back in the next scene, as if there were a revival center just beyond the edge of the animation cell.I've seen human foibles that have resulted in temporary maiming or momentary loss of life. People stumble into manholes, are hit by falling objects, trip into the paths of speeding vehicles.And when it happens, people laugh, because no matter how gruesome the event, that person, just like the coyote, will be back in a day or two, as good as new, and no worse - or wiser - for the wear.Immortality has turned us all into cartoons. By Neal Shusterman Coyote Studied Mortal Age Remember

They meet in the girls' bathroom. The last time they were forced to meet in a place like this, they took separate, isolated stalls. Now they share one. They hold each other in the tight space, making no excuses for it. There's no time left in their lives for games, or for awkwardness, or for pretending they don't care about each others, and so they kiss as if they've done it forever. As if it is as crucial as the need for oxygen. By Neal Shusterman Meet Bathroom Girls Time Separate

You have the soul of a corporation, a teacher once told him. It was meant as an insult, but he took it as a compliment. Corporations have great power and do fine things in this world when they choose to. By Neal Shusterman Soul Teacher Told Insult Compliment

She has no way of knowing that what occurred in his crate was a reenactment of what happened in her own, and in almost every other container on the plane. Fear, misgivings, questions rarely asked, and stories rarely told. The details are different, of course, as are the players, but the gist is the same. No one will discuss these things again, or even acknowledge having ever discussed them at all, but because of it, invisible bonds have been forged. By Neal Shusterman Plane Knowing Occurred Crate Reenactment

You could have killed that boy," his father had reprimanded. "And why? Because of words? Words don't hurt you." Which is one of the hugest criminal lies perpetrated by adults against children in this world. Because words hurt more than any physical pain. He would have gladly taken a concussion and a broken arm if he never had to be singled out as a storked child ever again. By Neal Shusterman Boy Reprimanded Words Killed Father

Life is like a bad haircut. At first it looks awful, then you kind of get used to it, and before you know it, it it grows out and you gotta get another haircut that maybe won't be so bad, unless of course you keep going to SuperClips, where the hairstylists are so terrible they oughta be using safety scissors, and when they're done you look like your head got caught in a ceiling fan. So life goes on, good haircut, bad haircut, until finally you go bald, and it don't matter no more. I told this wisdom to my mother, and she said I oughta put it in a book, then burn it. Some people just can't appreciate the profound. By Neal Shusterman Haircut Bad Life Oughta Awful

Sometimes the darkness beyond is not glorious at all, it truly is an absolute absence of light. A clawing, needy tar that pulls you down. You drown but you don't. It turns you to lead so you sink faster in its viscous embrace. It robs you of hope and even the memory of hope. It makes you think you've always felt like this, and there's no place to go but down, where it slowly, ravenously digests your will, distilling it into the ebony crude of nightmares. And you know the darkness beyond despair, just as intimately as you know the soaring heights. Because in this and all universes, there is balance. You can't have the one without facing the other. And sometimes you think you can take it because the joy is worth the despair, and sometimes you know you can't take it and how did you ever think you could? And there is the dance; strength and weakness, confidence and desolation. By Neal Shusterman Light Glorious Absolute Absence Darkness

They say you never know who's the real hero and who's the real coward until you're looking death in the face. I've always been afraid of plenty of things, but fear isn't what makes you a coward. It's how depraved your heart becomes when fear gets pumped through it. By Neal Shusterman Real Face Coward Hero Death

You're not actually falling for him, are you?" he asks her one day, on one of the rare occasions he can get her alone."I'll pretend you didn't just ask that," she tells him in disgust. But Connor has reasons to wonder."On that first night here, he offered you his blanket, and you accepted it," he points out."Only because I knew it would make him cold.""And when he offers you his food, you take it.""Because it means he goes hungry."It's coolly logical. Connor finds it amazing that she can put her emotions aside and be as calculating as Roland, beating him at his own game. Another reason for Connor to admire her. By Neal Shusterman Connor Day Alone Disgust Falling

Hayden shouts, "To the new Teen Uprising! By Neal Shusterman Uprising Teen Hayden Shouts

That's what law is: educated guesses at right and wrong. By Neal Shusterman Educated Wrong Law Guesses

But laugh, laugh, laugh, because if you ever stop laughing, it might just tear you apart By Neal Shusterman Laugh Laughing Stop Tear

Every Unwind believes in their heart of hearts that it won't happen to them - that their parents, no matter how strained things get, will be smart enough not to fall for the net ads, TV commercials, and billboards that say things like Unwinding: the sensible solution. By Neal Shusterman Unwinding Unwind Things Parents Ads

He only wishes there were something that would heal the scars in his mind, which he can still feel. He sees his mind now as an archipelago of islands that he labors to build bridges between - and while he's had great success engineering the most spectacular of bridges, he suspects there are some islands that he'll never reach. By Neal Shusterman Mind Feel Wishes Heal Scars

It's strange how we always want other people to feel what we feel. It must be a basic human drive. Misery loves company, right? Or when you see a movie that you love, don't you want to drag all your friends to see it as well? Because it's only good the second time if it's the first time for somebody else - as if their experience somehow resonates inside of you. By Neal Shusterman Feel Strange People Time Drive

Everyone is guilty of something, and everyone still harbors a memory of childhood innocence, no matter how many layers of life wrap around it. Humanity is innocent; humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true. By Neal Shusterman Humanity Innocence Guilty Harbors Memory

If you care so much about it," she asks him, "then why did you run?"He takes a moment before answering, shifting his weight and grimacing again. "Their work is good," he says. "It just isn't mine."This baffles her. His motives - his hazy integrity. It was easy to dismiss Lev as "part of the problem" when she did not know him, but now it's not so easy. He's a paradox. This is a boy who almost blew himself to bits in an attempt to kill others, and yet he offered himself to the parts pirate in order to save Miracolina's life. How could someone go from having no respect for one's own existence to being willing to give himself as a sacrifice for someone he barely knows? It flies in the face of the truths that have defined Miracolina's life. The bad are bad, the good are good, and being caught in between is just an illusion. There is no gray. By Neal Shusterman Run Answering Shifting Miracolina Care

Good God - don't they teach you anything in those poor excuses for schools anymore?" Then he calms down, but only a little. "No, I suppose they wouldn't. History is written by the victors - and when there are no victors, it all winds up in corporate shredders." He looks out the window with the sad resignation of a man who knows he's too old to change the world. By Neal Shusterman God Good Anymore Teach Poor

He wonders if it's some sort of twisted joke the adults are having, shoving hormonal teens into tight quarters but making it impossible to do anything but breathe."I wouldn't mind suffocating if it was with you," the girl says, which is flattering, but makes him even less interested in her."There'll be a better time," he tells her, knowing that such a time will never come - at least not for her - but hope is a powerful motivator.Eventually they settle into a sort of symbiotic breathing rhythm. He breathes in when she breathes out, so their chests don't fight for space.After a while, there's a jarring motion. With his arm now around the girl, he holds her a little more tightly, knowing that easing her fear somehow eases his own. By Neal Shusterman Sort Time Knowing Shoving Breathe

I'm alone. And I'm crying. And no one is coming to the crib. And the nightlight has burned out. And I'm mad. I'm so mad. Left frontal lobe. I ... I ... I don't feel so good. Left occipital lobe. I ... don't remember where ... Left parietal lobe. I ... I ... I can't remember my name,but ... but ... Right temporal ... but I'm still here. Right frontal. I'm still here ... Right occipital.I'm still ... Right parietal. I'm ... Cerebellum. I'm ... Thalamus. I ... Hypothalamus. I ... Hippocampus ... Medulla ... By Neal Shusterman Left Lobe Mad Remember Frontal

Cities are never random. No matter how chaotic they might seem, everything about them grows out of a need to solve a problem. In fact, a city is nothing more than a solution to a problem, that in turn creates more problems that need more solutions, until towers rise, roads widen, bridges are built, and millions of people are caught up in a mad race to feed the problem-solving, problem-creating frenzy. By Neal Shusterman Cities Random Problem Problems Matter

I still can't figure out if it's bravery or cowardice to take your own life. I can't figure out whether it's being selfish, or selfless. It is the ultimate act of letting go of oneself, or a cheap act of self-possession? People say a failed attempt is a cry for help. I guess that's true if the person meant it to be unsuccessful. But then, I guess most failed attempts aren't entirely sincere, because, let's face it, if you want to off yourself, there are plenty of ways to make sure it works. By Neal Shusterman Figure Life Bravery Cowardice Act

Then, in spite of everything, he began to smile. So much of his existence in Everlost had been full of despair. Despair, and a fear of losing what he had. But Allie was not lost, she was just there across the river, waiting for him to find her. Nick was not lost eithernot entirely.It was then that Mikey McGill realized something. It must have been his sister who first called this place Everlost, because by naming it so, it stripped away all hope except for a faith in her, and the "safety" she could provide. Well, Mary was wrong on all counts, because nothing in Everlost was lost forever, if one had the courage to search for it.Mikey held tightly on to this shining truth as he and the golem sunk into the earth. Then with all the force of his heart, his mind, and his soul, Mikey McGill began to dig. By Neal Shusterman Everlost Smile Despair Lost Mikey

I never met the boy, or his parents, but I see kids like him every day." Sonia tells Connor. "Their world is shattered, and they're so desperate for validation that they'd blow themselves up to get it. Any parent who disowns that boy after what he did, and didn't do . . . doesn't deserve to have children at all, much less a child to give away. By Neal Shusterman Day Connor Met Kids Boy

When it comes to such open-heart reflection, I'm a firm believer in the observer effect, which states that anything you try to observe is automatically changed by the mere fact that you're looking at it. The way I see it, if you try to study your emotions on a microscopic level, the best you can do is understand how it feels to hold the magnifying glass. By Neal Shusterman Reflection Effect Openheart Firm Believer

I'm against solutions that are worse than the problem. Like old women who want their hair dyed the color of shoe polish to hide the gray. By Neal Shusterman Problem Solutions Worse Gray Women

The Statue of Liberty's got this invitation: 'Give me your tired, your poor, your reeking homeless''Huddled masses,' said Ira. 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' ... Okay, fine. So like everybody in the old countries says, 'Hey, I'm a huddled mass,' and they all wanna come over. By Neal Shusterman Give Ira Statue Liberty Tired

It was the very rightness of the idea that made Nelson become a Juvey-cop to begin with. The knowledge that he would leave the world a cleaner, brighter place by dredging the dregs from the streets was what propelled him into the police academy. Eventually, though, his ideals were replaced by an abiding hatred for those marked for unwinding. They were all alike, these Unwinds; sucking valuable resources from those more deserving, and clinging to their pathetic individuality, rather than accepting peaceful division. By Neal Shusterman Nelson Juveycop Rightness Idea Made

Distractions ... that's what makes up a big part of our lives, y'know? The distractions. Lots of times, we're like moths fluttering around a porch light. Bugs'll swarm around that bult, all distracted, forgetting in their minuscule insect brains that there's something else they should be doing, like biting people or making more bugs. We're like that, although our brains are generally larger ... Human distractions are bigger, better lightbulbs. We got TVs and computers. We got blinking casino lights and live bands on cruise ships playing yet another version of 'Hot, Hot, Hot' until you wanna puke, but in the end, they're all just porch light. So we go from one bright bulb to another until we hit the bug zapper, and it's all over. By Neal Shusterman Hot Yknow Distractions Makes Big

Well, this place was not purgatory, Nirvana, or any sort of rebirth, and it occurred to Nick that regardless of what people believed, the universe had its own ideas. By Neal Shusterman Nirvana Nick Purgatory Rebirth Believed

Mental illness is by far the most misunderstood, and stigmatized, of all afflictions. Statistically, one in three families in the U.S. deals with mental illness, and yet it's rarely discussed in the open. It's time for that to change. By Neal Shusterman Misunderstood Stigmatized Afflictions Mental Illness

There are times I feel like I'm the kid screaming at the bottom of the well, and my dog runs off to pee on trees instead of getting help. By Neal Shusterman Times Feel Kid Screaming Bottom

-Appointments? You can't be serious. With all due respect, they have the cognitive capacity of chimpanzees right now.--And if we want to change that, we will start treating them as human beings, not a mob of apes.- By Neal Shusterman Appointments Respect Now Apes Due

Don't you recognize me, Mary? It's your good friend Allie the Outcast - although it looks like you're the one who's the out-cast now." Then Allie realized something with far too much glee. "Now that you're here - alive and all - there's something I've wanted to do for a very long time."Then Allie reached back, curled her fleshie's right hand into a fist, and swung it toward Mary with all her might.This was one strong fleshie!The punch connected with Mary's eye so hard, that Mary's entire body spun around, and she collapsed into a leopard chair. Allie's knuckles hurt, but it was a good kind of pain."My eye!" wailed Mary. "Oh! My eye. By Neal Shusterman Mary Allie Eye Outcast Recognize

Damn right! The time of your life! Gotta wrap up all those life events, all those parties, into one - birthdays, wedding, funeral." THen he turns to their father. "Very efficient, right, Dad?" ... "Here's to my brother, Lev," Marcus says. "And to our parents! Who have always done the right thing. The appropriate thing. Who have always given generously to charity. Who have always given 10 percent of everything to our church. Hey, Mom - we're lucky you had ten kids instead of five, otherwise we'd end up having to cut Lev off at the waist! By Neal Shusterman Damn Lev Life Thing Dad

-How do you dream of a future when you're not supposed to have one? How do you keep going when the world has disowned you?--I keep reminding myself that I'm right, and the world is wrong.--But how do you know?--I believe. I don't have your kind of faith, but I got faith in myself...- By Neal Shusterman Dream Future Supposed World Faith

People would cheer throw confetti and then go about breaking the resolutions they had made only moments before. By Neal Shusterman People Cheer Throw Confetti Breaking

I know this sounds weird ... but it's like we're all a part of this machine. The things we've done - the things we still have to do - they're all connected. By Neal Shusterman Weird Sounds Things Machine Connected

(T)his could be the big inning of a wonderful friendship. By Neal Shusterman Friendship Big Inning Wonderful

I don't want to go to the government," the Schwa says. "Yeah," I said. "They'd dissect him and put him in a formaldehyde fish tank in Area 51." Howie shook his head. "Area 51 is for aliens," he says. "They'd probably put him in Area 52. By Neal Shusterman Area Schwa Yeah Government Put

Suddenly, Tara's accomplishment was clear. She had lined up allies among the school's various groups and got them all to work together for probably the first time in the school's history. She was like a master builder who could bend materials like stone and steel and clay to her will ... except her materials were flesh and spirit. By Neal Shusterman Tara Suddenly Clear Accomplishment School

I always hear people talk about 'dysfunctional families.' It annoys me, because it makes you think that somewhere there's this magical family where everyone gets along, and no one ever screams things they don't mean, and there's never a time when sharp objects should be hidden. Well, I'm sorry, but that family doesn't exist. And if you find some neighbors that seem to be the grinning model of 'function,' trust me - that's the family that will get arrested for smuggling arms in their SUV between soccer games.The best you can really hope for is a family where everyone's problems, big and small, work together. Kind of like an orchestra where every instrument is out of tune, in exactly the same way, so you don't really notice. By Neal Shusterman Family Dysfunctional Families Hear People

I'm a savant when it comes to character judgment," he tells her. "For instance, most people wouldn't see anything in you besides attitude and a need for stronger deodorant, but I think you can handle the storks almost as well as Connor handled the Graveyard."Bam gives him a halfhearted glare. "Can you ever give a compliment without also making it an insult?""No," he admits. "Not possible. It's the essence of my charm. By Neal Shusterman Judgment Savant Character Graveyard Bam

See, every hotel in Las Vegas has a gimmick, and the biggest gimmick of all is the Stratosphere Tower, which claims to have 113 floors, although I think they're measuring floors in Las-Vegas-inches, which stretch and contract to fit whatever lie you're trying to sell. By Neal Shusterman Tower Las Vegas Stratosphere Gimmick

Mary believes she was put on earth to bring an end to the living world."Both Nick and Mikey just stared at her."What do you mean ... end?" asked Mikey."End means end. Complete and total destruction. She wants to kill everyone and everything. She wants to bring down every building, burn every forest, empty every ocean of life. She wants to turn the earth into a dead planet ... By Neal Shusterman End Mikey Nick Mikey Mary

All I'm saying is that, unless you're immortal, nothing can really belong to you. The best you can hope for is to hold something for a while, but in the end you've got to give it back. By Neal Shusterman Immortal Belong Back Hope Hold

Then Jix locked eyes with him and said very calmly, "If you hit her, I will open my mouth wide enough to swallow you whole, force you through my bowels, then out my other end."Avalon scowled at him. "You can't do that.""Try me," Jix said. Avalon backed off, then angrily stormed away, and Jix winked at Jill. "One in five. By Neal Shusterman Jix Avalon Calmly Force Bowels

But sometimes you get a career and then you suddenly realize you don't have a life. Or if you stay at home with your family, you suddenly realize that your life is actually everyone else's life, not your own. Either way, when you got all your eggs in one basket, the basket gets heavy. Maybe the eggs start to break. By Neal Shusterman Life Suddenly Realize Career Eggs

She points to the door. "Leave!" "No." So she picks up a hairbrush and throws it at him. It beans him on the head and ricochets to the wall, where it wedges behind the TV."Ow!" He grabs his head, grimacing. "That hurt!""Good, it was supposed to. By Neal Shusterman Door Leave Points Good Head

His existence had always been comfortable, he had always held a clear picture of himself, his duties, and his place in a world. He saw that world as a place so full of turning gears he had no hope of comprehending how things fit together, so why even try?Now things were different, however. Now he wasn't just looking out from inside of the clockwork. Instead, he was actually seeing the final motion of the escapement - the ticking hands of the clock itself.And it was a doomsday clock.Both his feline and human instincts told him to let it be. It was not his problem, or his place to interfere. If the living world was destined to fall, let it happen, let it pass into history once and for all. Who was he to try to save it?But on the other hand, if the living world were lost, then there would never again be great cats to furjack ... and couldn't it be that hearing the actual ticking of the clock gave one the responsibility to stop it? By Neal Shusterman Place World Comfortable Duties Existence

I'm scared," he says."I know," says the nurse."I want you all to go to Hell.""That's natural. By Neal Shusterman Hell Scared Says Nurse Natural

Then she offers him a slim but sincere smile, and he reluctantly returns it. It doesn't bridge the gap between them, but at least it marks the spot where the bridge might be built. By Neal Shusterman Smile Offers Slim Sincere Reluctantly

Makes sense, the earth is quick to consume the flesh of things that ain't natural. By Neal Shusterman Makes Sense Natural Earth Quick

When he touches a wall the ooze grows thicker, drawn to his and as if he's become a gravity well for the darkness - and it occurs to me that the dark must be in love with the light. Yet one must always kill the other. By Neal Shusterman Thicker Drawn Darkness Light Touches

The Bill of Life The Second Civil War, also known as "The Heartland War," was a long and bloody conflict fought over a single issue. To end the war, a set of constitutional amendments known as "The Bill of Life" was passed. It satisfied both the Pro-life and the Pro-choice armies. The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively "abort" a child . . . . . on the condition that the child's life doesn't "technically" end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called "unwinding." Unwinding is now a common, and accepted practice in society. By Neal Shusterman War Bill Life Civil Heartland

I think they call that parallas: being able to know the distance of something because you're seeing it from two separate points - and the farther apart those two points are, the more accurate you can be. Put one eye here and one eye fourteen feet away, and you know a whole lot more about the world you're seeing. The thing is, if you go through life with just your own point of view, you're like that kid with glass eye. If there's something that's right up in your face, it looks really big - overwhelming even. But if you've got that parallax - if you've got that other point of view - you realize that there are bigger, much more important things that are far off toward the horizon. Once you focus on those things rather than the way up close, that close-up stuff becomes nothing more than a nuisance blocking the view. By Neal Shusterman View Eye Parallas Call Distance

You're supposed to put your coin in the slot and let it go. It spins round and round the big yellow funnel for like a minute, making a rhythmic whirring sound that gets tighter and tighter, more intense, more desperate as it spirals closer to the hole. It keeps spinning faster - all that kinetic energy forced down the neck of the funnel until it's blaring like an alarm - then it falls silent as it drops into the black abyss of the funnel. I'm that coin on its way down, screaming in the neck of the funnel, with nothing but my own kinetic energy and centrifugal force keeping me from dropping into darkness. By Neal Shusterman Funnel Supposed Put Slot Neck

I wrote Unwind for lots of reasons, and it poses questions about alot of subjects. To state it briefly, I wanted to point out how when peopletake intractable positions on an issue, and stick to extreme sides,sometimes the result is a compromise that is worse than either extreme. Imeant it as a wake up call to society and to point out that sometimes theproblem IS that we take sides on an issue, when a different sort of approachis needed. It's also to pose questions about what it means to be alive.Where does life begin, where does it end and point out that there is nosingle answer to these questions. The problem is people who think there aresimple answers. People who see things as simple black-and-whiteright-and-wrong are the type of people who will end up with a world like theworld in Unwind. By Neal Shusterman Point Questions Issue Unwind Reasons

I hope you approve of how we've used your image to help these children.Lev finds himself in no position to approve, or disapprove, or even to judge the wisdom of it. How do you judge the brightness of a light when you're the source? A spotlight can never see the shadows it casts. All he can do is go with it, and take his place as some sort of spiritual figure. There are worse things. Having experienced several of them, there is no question that this is better. By Neal Shusterman Approve Judge Disapprove Hope Image

I went home and tried to sleep, but couldn't, so I stared up at the moon, watching how it's trailing edge faded into darkness, so close to being full, but not quite there. A pregnant moon, Grandma called it. Full almost to bursting, and ready to give birth to something unthinkable. By Neal Shusterman Moon Sleep Watching Darkness Home

As your older brother, it's my sacred duty to save you from yourself."She brings her fists down on the table, making all the dinner plates jump. "The ONLY reason you're fifteen minutes older than me is because you cut in front of the line, as usual! By Neal Shusterman Brother Yourself Table Making Jump

My father has the irritating habit of saying the same thing whenever something bad happens. "This, too, shall pass," he says. What annoys me is that he's always right about it. What annoys me even more is that he always reminds me later when it does pass, as a smug "I told you so." He doesn't say it to me anymore because Mom told him it was trite. Maybe it is, but I find that I say it to myself now. No matter how bad I'm feeling, I make myself say it, even if I'm not ready to believe it. This, too, shall pass. It's amazing how little things like that can make a big difference. By Neal Shusterman Pass Father Irritating Habit Annoys

And so when the scar wraith approached him, he took a diagonal step backward putting himself behind Squirrel like a king retreating behind a pawn. By Neal Shusterman Squirrel Pawn Scar Wraith Approached

When your parents turn you in to the Juvenile Authority - and they will - I will not shed a single tear for you, Connor Lassiter. By Neal Shusterman Authority Connor Lassiter Juvenile Parents

It can be said, then, that Everlost is heaven ... for the places that deserve a share of forever. Such places are few and far between ... The greatest of these stood near Manhattan's southern-most tip: the two gray brothers to the green statue in the bay. The towers had found their heaven ... held fast, and held forever by the memories of a mourning world, and by the dignity of the souls who got where they were going on that dark September day. By Neal Shusterman Everlost Heaven Places Forever Held

Finally his father looks at him. "Are you satisfied now? Are you happy with the results of your actions?"Lev has imagined this conversation between him and his father a hundred times. In each of those mental confrontations, Lev has always been the one making accusations, not the other way around. How dare he? How dare he? Lev wants to lash out, but he refuses to take the bait. He says nothing."Do you have any idea what you've put this family through?" his father says. "The shame? The ridicule?"Lev can't maintain his silence. "Then maybe you shouldn't surround yourself with people as judgmental as you. By Neal Shusterman Lev Father Finally Dare Satisfied

On a hairpin turn, above the dead forest, on no day in particular, a white Toyota crashed into a black Mercedes, for a moment blending into a blur of gray. By Neal Shusterman Mercedes Toyota Turn Forest Gray

I believe that we have free will. I believe we get the chance to make choices in our lives. Not everything is set in stone from the moment we're born. We choose our destiny, our ultimate fate. But I also think that we don't realize the choices we've made until after we make them. We're racing down a freeway, only to realize we've missed all the exits, and the only direction we can go is dead ahead. By Neal Shusterman Free Make Choices Realize Lives

The only thing you have for measuring what's real is your mind ... so what happens when your mind becomes a pathological liar? By Neal Shusterman Mind Thing Measuring Real Liar

war, the issue doesn't matter anymore, because now it's about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hates the other." The By Neal Shusterman War Thing Anymore Issue Matter

You see, a conflict always begins with an issue - a difference of opinion, an argument. But by the time it turns into a war, the issue doesn't matter anymore, because now it's about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hates the other. By Neal Shusterman Opinion Argument Issue Conflict Begins

There isn't one single thing that will end unwinding. It will take a hodgepodge of random events that come together in just the right way and at just the right time to remind society it's got a conscience. -Sonia By Neal Shusterman Unwinding Sonia Single Thing End

If your heart tells you something but your mind tells you something else, which do you believe? Both are just as apt to lie. In fact, they play at deceit all the time. Mostly they balance each other, giving us that crucial reality check. But what happens on the rare occasions when they conspire together? By Neal Shusterman Heart Mind Lie Fact Time

Little Red, Little Red, what's in the chip bag, Little Red?" And in the same singsong voice I answered, "Nothing at all, Nothing at all, Nothing at all but your grandpa's head. By Neal Shusterman Red Bag Chip Answered Head

We must always be careful of the actions we take, for there are always unintended consequences. Sometimes they are serendipitous, other times they are appalling, but those consequences are always there. We must tread lightly in this world ... until we are sure of foot. By Neal Shusterman Consequences Careful Actions Unintended Serendipitous

Outside the rain finally began to fall, surging in fits and starts. "I love the way it rains here," he told her. "It reminds me that some forces of nature can never be entirely subdued. They are eternal, which is a far better thing to be than immortal. By Neal Shusterman Fall Surging Starts Finally Began

No outcome is certain, even when it seems so. Fates can change with the swing of a bat, or the flip of a switch, or the closing of a circuit. It all came down to how far you dared to go to accomplish what the world thinks can't be done. By Neal Shusterman Outcome Fates Bat Switch Circuit

Lethargy. It's a word I know, because it's in one of my father's favorite expressions. Lethargy breeds lethargy. It means the more you lie around doing nothing, the more you want to lie around doing nothing. Your limbs and your mind feel so heavy that it becomes a major effort just to lift your arm to channel surf. By Neal Shusterman Lethargy Lie Expressions Word Father

What bothers her most is that she cares. Risa was always able to take care of herself, both physically and emotionally. At the state home, either you developed several layers of personal armor or you were eaten alive. When had that changed? Was it when she was forced to play music as kids were led into the building beneath her to be unwound? Was it when she made the choice to accept a shattered spine, rather than having it replaced by the healthy spine of an Unwind? Or maybe it was before that, when she realized that, against all sense and reason, she had fallen in love with Connor Lassiter? By Neal Shusterman Bothers Cares Care Spine Unwind

We tried to be good parents ... but there's a point at which you give up trying.""No, there's not," Connor tells her. Then he turns to go, leaving them with the worst punishment of all: having to live with themselves. By Neal Shusterman Parents Good Connor Trying Leaving

So tell us," says Connor, "in The World According to Hayden, when do we start to live?"A long silence from Hayden, and then he says quietly, uneasily, "I don't know."Emby razzes him. "That's not an answer."But Connor reaches out and grabs Emby's arm, to shut him up- because Emby's wrong. Even though Connor can't see Hayden's face, he can hear the truth of it in his voice. There was no hint of evasion in Hayden's words. This was raw honesty, void of Hayden's usual flip attitude. It was perhaps the first truly honest thing Connor had ever heard him say. "Yes, it is an answer," Connor says. "Maybe it's the best answer of all. If more people could admit they really don't know, maybe there never would have been a Heartland War. By Neal Shusterman Emby Connor Hayden World Uneasily

The Salton Sea is a huge dead lake south of Palm Springs. There's a town there that's the asshole of the armpit of the world. You'd fit right in. By Neal Shusterman Springs Salton Sea Palm Huge

You know something, don't you?" "I know lots of thingsyour inquiry needs to be more specific." "Just answer the question." "True/false or multiple choice? By Neal Shusterman True Specific Question Lots Thingsyour

What happened to you is kind of like a fire, in a way. I saw this thing once on T.V. They said wildfires have to happen every so often. Brush gets too thick, trees get too dense. You have a hot day and whoosh! But the heathy trees survive. In fact, there are some seeds that won't even grow until they burn first. So have you lost some friends today? Maybe, but they weren't real friends. They were just brush. And the ones who stick by you, the ones who get it? They're the healthy trees. By Neal Shusterman Fire Happened Kind Trees Brush

Are you calling me stupid?"says Emby. "I think I just did." Hayden laughs. "Hey, the Mouth Breather's right-unwinding does help people. If it wasn't for unwinding, there would be bald guys again-and wouldn't that be horrible? By Neal Shusterman Emby Stupid Hey Calling Mouth

I'd never want a piece of someone else's brain," Kele had said. "I mean, you don't know where it's been. By Neal Shusterman Kele Brain Piece

Look behind you now.Do you feel in your heart a slight hastening of its beat, and a powerful sense that something momentous is about to happen? ... Perhaps, then, this is the hour that Mary Hightower takes to the sky with thousands Afterlights heading toward Memphis. ... Perhaps this is the moment that Nick, the Chocolate Ogre, arrives in the same city in search for Allie, only to find that he has no idea where to look. ... Perhaps this is the very instant that a monster called the McGill arrives there as well, aching to ease his pain by sharing his misery - not only with his new minions, but with anyone he can. ... And perhaps you can sense, in some small twisting loop of your gut, the covergence of the wrong, of the right, and the woefully misguided. If you do, then pay sharp attention to the moment you wake, and the moment you fall asleep ... For maybe then you will know, without a shadow of doubt, which is which. By Neal Shusterman Moment Beat Happen Nowdo Feel

I ain't no runaway, I'm a run-to. By Neal Shusterman Runaway Runto

There are many ways in which the "check brain" light illuminates, but here's the screwed-up part: the driver can't see it. It's like the light is positioned in the backseat cup holder, beneath an empty can of soda that's been there for a month. No one sees it but the passengers - and only if they're really looking for it, or when the light gets so bright and so hot that it melts the can, and sets the whole car on fire. By Neal Shusterman Light Check Brain Illuminates Part

Innocence is doomed to die a senseless death at our own hands, a casualty of the mistakes we can never undo. So we lay to rest the wide-eyed wonder we once thrived upon, replacing it with the scars of which we never speak, too knotted for any amount of technology to repair. By Neal Shusterman Innocence Hands Undo Doomed Die

And next to Allie, the screamer, once more reminded of his job, began to wail in Allie's ear. Reflexively Allie clapped her hand over his mouth. "That," she said, "is totally uncalled for. Don't do that again. Ever." The screamer looked at her with worried eyes. "Are we clear on this subject?" said Allie. The screamer nodded and she removed her hand."Can I scream a little?" he asked. "No," said Allie. "Your screaming days are over.""Darn." And he was quiet thereafter. By Neal Shusterman Allie Job Began Ear Screamer

They are not peoplethey are ideas. They are just extensions of the enemy. By Neal Shusterman Ideas Peoplethey Enemy Extensions

The kiss was the definition of perfect. True, it lacked the heat, the passion, the breathlessness of the living-world kiss she had given Milos, but this had something greater. More than a flash of fire, it had an unbreakable, perhaps eternal bond of connection. Mikey had transformed back into himself by the end of the kiss, and the moment their lips parted he knew, as he should have known long, long ago, that no one - not Milos, not another Afterlight, not anyone in any world - could ever come between him and Allie, from now until the day they met their maker. By Neal Shusterman Kiss Milos Perfect Definition Long

I smell fear," he said with a quiet intensity. "But not nearly enough. By Neal Shusterman Fear Intensity Smell Quiet

Human nature is both predictable and mysterious; prone to great and sudden advances, yet still mired in despicable self-interest. By Neal Shusterman Human Mysterious Prone Advances Selfinterest

There's ordinary people out there doing extraordinary things. By Neal Shusterman Things Ordinary People Extraordinary

There are worse things than being robbed ... " I could smell the sick old-meat stench on his breath, like he really had eaten my grandmother. " ... worse things than dyin' even. You be a good boy, Little Red, and maybe you'll get to live awhile. Maybe you'll get to die in your own natural time. By Neal Shusterman Robbed Things Worse Red Breath

You have three hundred sixty-five days of immunity." And then, looking him in the eye, said, "And I'll be seeing you on day three hundred sixty-six. By Neal Shusterman Immunity Hundred Sixtyfive Eye Sixtysix

All this time, Lev ever realized what he needed. He did not need to be adored or pitied. He needed to be forgiven. Not by God, who is all forgiving. Not by people like Marcus and Pastor Dan, who would always stand by his side. He needed to be forgiven by an unforgiving world. By Neal Shusterman Lev Needed Time Realized Forgiven

Your friend Mikey knew what my touch could do, but he didn't tell me. He turned me into a murderer. Worse than a murderer.""I think," said Nick, "they call that manslaughter or wrongful death, don't they? I mean, when it's an accident or out of ignorance, or something."Clarence turned to Nick, studying him with his Everlost eye. "You're a lot smarter than you were back in the cage," Clarence said. "You look better too. Back then you were a thing, now you're almost a person.""Thanks . . . but 'almost' is still 'almost.'""Yeah, well, we're all almost something. By Neal Shusterman Mikey Nick Clarence Friend Knew

He has no choice but to believe, because losing the hope of having hope would be unimaginable. By Neal Shusterman Unimaginable Hope Choice Losing

I almost told her everything right then. I wanted to tell her about the Wolves, and how I was supposed to hate them, but when you spend your days with evil, some of it is bound to soak into your clothes, like cigar smoke in a closed room. By Neal Shusterman Told Wolves Evil Clothes Room

Then you'd better listen, because me sounding like Bronte is one of the signs of the apocalypse-and if the end fo the world is coming, good deeds could earn you Judgment day brownie points. By Neal Shusterman Bronte Judgment Listen Coming Good

The accountant lingers at his children's doorway a moment more, listening to the easy rhythm of their breathing, and something cold moves through him, like the passage of a ghost - but he know that's not it. It's more like the portent of a future. A future that must never come to pass ... ... and for the first time, he gives rise to a thought that is silently echoed in millions of homes that night. My God ... what have we done? By Neal Shusterman Listening Breathing Ghost Accountant Lingers

The living do not see eternity, just as they don't see Everlost, but they sense both in ways that they don't even know. They don't feel the Everlost barrier set across the Mississippi River, and yet no one had ever dared to draw city boundaries that straddle both sides of its waters. The living do not see Afterlights, and yet everyone has had times when they've felt a presence near them - sometimes comforting, sometimes not - but always strong enough to make one turn around and look over one's shoulder. By Neal Shusterman Everlost Eternity Living Sense River

There's no telling how far down it goes," the captain says, the left side of his mustache twitching like the tail of a rat. "Fall into that unknowable abyss, and you'll be counting the days before you reach bottom. By Neal Shusterman Rat Telling Captain Left Side

In horse racing they put these slats on either side of the horse's head, blocking the creature's peripheral vision. They're called blinders. They don't actually blind the horse, but they allow the horse to see only what's right in front of it; otherwise it might freak out and lose the race. People live with blinders too; but ours are invisible, and much more sophisticated. Most of the time we don't even know they're there. Maybe we need them, though, because if we took in everything all at once, we'd lose our minds. Or worse, our souls. We'd see, we'd hear, we'd feel so deeply that we might never resurface. So we make our decisions and base our lives on those decisions, never realizing we're seeing only one-tenth of the whole. Then we cling to our narrow conclusions like our lives depend on it. By Neal Shusterman Horse Head Blocking Vision Racing

She thinks about the days before the War, when unwanted babies could just be unwanted pregnancies, quickly made to go away. Did the women who made that other choice feel the way she felt now? Relieved and freed from an unwelcome and often unfair responsibility ... yet vaguely regretful? ... Which was worse, Risa often wondered - to have tens of thousands of babies that no one wanted, or to silently make them go away before they were even born? On different days Risa had different answers. By Neal Shusterman War Unwanted Pregnancies Quickly Made

the voices are so persuasive, you don't know what's real and what's not. You know the voices aren't talking into your ears, but they're not exactly in your head either. They seem to call to you from another place that you've accidentally tapped into, like a cell phone pulling in a conversation in some foreign language - yet somehow you understand it. They linger there on the edge of your consciousness like the things you hear just as you're waking up, before the dream collapses under the crushing weight of the real world. But what if the dream doesn't go away when you wake up? And what if you lose the ability to tell the difference? By Neal Shusterman Voices Persuasive Real Dream Ears

I turn to our father, searching for an ally. "So Dad, is it legal for Bronte to date out of her species?"Dad looks up from his various layers of pepperoni and breadless cheese. "Date?" he says. Apparently the idea of Bronte dating is like an electromagnet sucking away all other words in the sentence, so that's the only word he hears."You're not funny," Bronte says to me."No, I'm serious," I tell her. "Isn't he like ... a Sasquatch or something?""Date?" says Dad. By Neal Shusterman Bronte Dad Date Father Searching

He's a conundrum- and there's still a piece missing from the puzzle. Whatever that piece was, there was a part of me telling me not to get involved- that it was too much to handle. That you shouldn't go out on a limb unless you're absolutely sure the limb can support your weight. By Neal Shusterman Conundrum Puzzle Piece Missing Limb

I think it's outrageously cruel to keep a puzzle that they know is missing a single piece. By Neal Shusterman Piece Outrageously Cruel Puzzle Missing

Either things happen for a reason, or they happen for no reason at all. Either one's life is a thread in a glorious tapestry or humanity is just a hopelessly tangled knot. By Neal Shusterman Happen Reason Things Knot Life

You can't imagine what it's like to be torn between darkness and light- to be a traitor no matter what move you make. If my grandmother and Marissa died tonight, it would be because I had stayed in the darkness too long, flirting with the idea of being Cedric's consigliere. If that happened, I could never live with myself- but if Cedric gave me the bite as he planned, I would be forced to live with it forever. That was the worst hell I could imagine. By Neal Shusterman Light Make Cedric Darkness Torn

I can't destroy things so beautiful.""Time will destroy them if you don't. Time destroys everything. But if you destroy them, it will mean something. By Neal Shusterman Time Destroy Beautiful Things Destroys

One of the adults does his best impersonation of a DJ, and when encouragement doesn't work,he demands that everyone form a circle on the dance floor to do the hokey pokey. However, ten seconds into the dance, he suddenly realises how ill advised it is for ex-tithes to be putting various body parts in and out. By Neal Shusterman Pokey Dance Adults Impersonation Encouragement

You Unwinds are all the same. You think that because no one loves you, then you can't love anyone. All right, then, if there's no one you love, then pick someone who needs to hear what you have to say. By Neal Shusterman Unwinds Love Loves Pick Hear

You should never apologize for existing, Lev. Not even to all those people out there who wish you didn't. By Neal Shusterman Lev Existing Apologize People

I'm sure my parents must be proud. Or horrified. Or are bitterly arguing about whether they're proud or horrified, and have already hired lawyers to resolve the dispute. -Hayden Upchurch By Neal Shusterman Horrified Parents Proud Hayden Upchurch

aren't all good, and people aren't all bad. We move in and out of darkness and light all of our lives. By Neal Shusterman Good Bad People Lives Move

They want to do something - anything - to help me. Anything to change my situation. But they are as powerless as I am. The two of them are in a lifeboat, together, but so alone. The boat leaks, and they must bail in tandem to keep themselves afloat. It must be exhausting.The terrible truth of their helplessness is almost too much to bear. I wish I would take them on board, but even if they could reach us, the captain would never allow it.Right now it sucks to be me - but until now, it never occurred to me that it also sucks to be them. By Neal Shusterman Sucks Situation Change Lifeboat Powerless

The Fatigues all talk like that. Big-Picture-speak, Risa calls it. Seeing the whole, and none of the parts. It's not just in their speech but in their eyes as well.When they look at Risa, she can tell they don't really see her. They seem to see the mob of Unwinds more as a concept rather than a collection of anxious kids, and so they miss all the subtle social tremors that shake things just as powerfully as the jets shake the roof. By Neal Shusterman Fatigues Risa Talk Shake Unwinds

If every part of you is alive but inside someone else ... are you alive or are you dead? By Neal Shusterman Alive Dead Part Inside

What if ... what if ... "What if it's a harvest camp after all?" says Emby. Connor doesn't tell him to shut up this time, because he's thinking the same thing.It's Diego who answers him. "If it is, then I want my fin gers to go to a sculptor. So he can use them to craft something that will last forever."They all think about that. Hayden is the next to speak."If I'm unwound," says Hayden, "I want my eyes to go to a photographer - one who shoots supermodels. That's what I want these eyes to see.""My lips'll go to a rock star," says Connor."These legs are definitely going to the Olympics.""My ears to an orchestra conductor.""My stomach to a food critic.""My biceps to a body builder.""I wouldn't wish my sinuses on anybody."And they're all laughing as the plane touches down. By Neal Shusterman Hayden Eyes Emby Diego Connor

The headmaster's tie turns into a noose again, preventing blood from getting to his face By Neal Shusterman Preventing Face Headmaster Tie Turns

If pennies become worthless, does that devalue our thoughts to less than nothing? By Neal Shusterman Worthless Pennies Devalue Thoughts

Apparently Quinn had woken up a short time ago and immediately asked for ice cream, knowing that kids in hospitals got whatever they wanted. By Neal Shusterman Quinn Apparently Cream Knowing Wanted

Instead of ignoring me, Frankie was suddenly noticing every little thing I did, wondering why I did it. Christina started asking me questions about things, like I was the smarter brother. Dad was now confiding in me about things that were really none of my business, and Mom started treating me like I was actually a responsible human being. It was all very disturbing. By Neal Shusterman Frankie Wondering Things Ignoring Suddenly

And perhaps you can sense, in some small twisting loop of your gut, the convergence of the wrong, of the right, and of the woefully misguided. If you do, then pay sharp attention to the moment you wake, and the moment you fall asleep ... For maybe then you will know, without a shadow of a doubt, which is which. By Neal Shusterman Sense Gut Wrong Misguided Moment

Love the ponytail," Connor says, pointing at his hair.Lev shrugs. "It's just because my hair is so tatted. But maybe I'll keep it.""Don't," Connor tells him. "I lied. I hate it. By Neal Shusterman Connor Love Ponytail Pointing Shrugs

It's like when you call the radio station when they ask for the ninth caller, but you're never the ninth caller, so when they actually pick up and talk to you, you figure it must be some mistake. Then they put you on the radio, you sound like a complete fool, and then you hang up before you can give them your address, so they can't mail you your concert tickets. Don't laugh - it happened. By Neal Shusterman Caller Ninth Radio Mistake Call

I wanted to take everything I was feeling, put it in a cannon and aim it at him. By Neal Shusterman Feeling Put Wanted Cannon Aim

Everyone just calls me Emby.""Is that your choice, or theirs?" asks the Admiral."Well ... theirs, mostly-but I got used to it.""Never let anyone else name you," says the Admiral. By Neal Shusterman Emby Admiral Choice Admiral Calls

The rides are different for everyone. I'm convinced of that now. I mean, sure, there are some we ride together. Either we find ourselves drawn to some common experience, or maybe we're pulled in by the people we care about. Our friends, our families can drag us onto coasters and Tilt-A-Whirls that are really meant for them. But in the end, no matter whose rides we find ourselves on, the experience is all our own. By Neal Shusterman Find Rides Experience Convinced Ride

Connor tries to hold her arm to give her support, but she shakes him off and throws him a nasty gaze. "If I want your help, I'll ask. Do I look feeble to you?" "Actually, yes.""Looks are deceiving." she says. " After all, when I saw you, I thought you looked reasonably intelligent." "Very funny. By Neal Shusterman Connor Support Gaze Hold Arm

Love turns a heart to crystal ... Much more valuable, but much more fragile. By Neal Shusterman Love Crystal Turns Heart Valuable

Carl was just saying good-bye," Mom said."Really," I said. "He must speak in tongues. By Neal Shusterman Mom Carl Goodbye Said Tongues

Man, Grandma, what big hair you have.""The better to style with, my dear. By Neal Shusterman Grandma Man Have Dear Big

I shouldn't be here," I appeal to the captain, wondering if I've told him this before. "I have midterms and papers due and dirty clothes I never picked up from my bedroom floor, and I have friends, lots of friends. By Neal Shusterman Captain Wondering Friends Appeal Told

I guess we all can't help peeking at our own imperfections, just like we can't help scratching a scab that keeps itching. When those imperfections are pasted across your face like that, exaggerated and magnified, it's hard to find all those good thoughts you have about yourself. If you believe those distorted reflections too deeply, you'll never get out of the maze. By Neal Shusterman Itching Imperfections Guess Peeking Scratching

We always look for the signs we missed when something goes wrong. We become like detectives trying to solve a murder, because maybe if we uncover the clues, it gives us some control. Sure, we can't change what happened, but if we can string together enough clues, we can prove that whatever nightmare has befallen us, we could have stopped it, if only we had been smart enough. I suppose it's better to believe in our own stupidity than it is to believe that all the clues in the world wouldn't have changed a thing. By Neal Shusterman Clues Wrong Signs Missed Murder

All his life there was only one thing Lec was allowed to believe. It had surrounded him, cocooned him, constricted him with the same stifling softness as the layers of insulation around him now. For the first time in his life, Lev feels those bounds around his soul begin to loosen. By Neal Shusterman Lec Life Thing Allowed Lev

(B)ut a second can split in a million different directions ... By Neal Shusterman Directions Split Million

That's wisdom you can take to the grave, and dig up when you need it! By Neal Shusterman Grave Wisdom Dig

Sure, I can talk like you, but I choose not to, It's like an art, you know? Picasso had to prove to the world he could paint the right way, before he goes putting both eyes on the side of a face ... See if you paint wrong because that's the best you can do, you just a chump. But you do it because you want to? Then you're an artist ... You can take that to the grave and dig it up when you need it. By Neal Shusterman Art Talk Choose Paint Picasso

And he thinks that if his soul had a form, this is what it would be. A baby sleeping in his arms. By Neal Shusterman Form Soul Arms Baby Sleeping

Leadership is about keeping toilets flushing," the Admiral once said. "Unless you're on the battlefront. Then it's about staying alive. Neither are pleasant. By Neal Shusterman Admiral Leadership Flushing Keeping Toilets

Our conversation with the supermarket manager had been about as helpful as a New Jersey road sign, and if you've ever been there, you know the signs don't tell you the exit you're coming up to, they only point out the exits you've just missed. It puts parents in very foul moodsand since you're probably there to visit relatives, their mood was pretty touch and go to begin with. By Neal Shusterman Jersey Exit Exits Missed Sign

Mooooon!" said the Ogre. "Tranquility ... " Then he pointed at the full moon. "Neil Armstrong walked in a sea of Tranquility." Then he added, "It's made of cheese. But you have to take off the plastic before you put it on a burger."Mickey sighed."What's his story?" the wraith asked."He's chocolate," Mikey said. By Neal Shusterman Ogre Mooooon Tranquility Neil Mickey

(I)n this world of change and lost memories, time brings all things full circle. That which was discarded becomes priceless.Those who were abandoned will someday be loved - if you can hold on till that day. By Neal Shusterman Memories Time Circle World Change

There's a set of unspoken rules we live by when it comes to fighting. We can't help it. It comes from living in a civilized world. Even when you're fighting your hardest, somewhere deep down, you know how far you can go. But today the rules are gone. Today I fight not to win, but to destroy. By Neal Shusterman Set Unspoken Live Fighting Rules

You can't change laws without first changing human nature.'-Nurse GretaYou can't change human nature without first changing the law.'-Nurse Yvonne By Neal Shusterman Yvonne Nurse Change Changing Human

You ... you lost your faith?""No ... just my convictions. I still very much believe in God- just not a god who condones human tithing." Lev begins to feel himself choking up with an unexpected flood of feeling, all the emotions that had been building up throughout their talk- throughout the weeks- arriving all at once like a sonic boom."I never knew there was a choice. By Neal Shusterman God Faith Convictions Lost Tithing

What's going on? I'm in the back car of a roller coaster at the top of the climb, with the front rows already giving themselves over to gravity. I can hear those front riders screaming and know my own scream is only seconds away. I'm at the moment you hear the landing gear of a plane grind loudly into place, in that instant before your rational mind tells you it's just the landing gear. I'm leaping off a cliff only to discover I can fly... and then realizing there's nowhere to land. Ever. That's what's going on. By Neal Shusterman Front Landing Gear Hear Climb

We're this big melting pot, but someone turned up the heat too high, and the stew started to burn. Gangs, crime, fights, and fear are now a regular part of our local stew. By Neal Shusterman Pot High Burn Gangs Crime

Today you're in a hospital. Or at least this morning. This hour. This minute. Where you'll be three minutes from now is anyone's guess. You've begun to notice, though, that, bit by bit the sense of being outside yourself has diminished with each passing day. A critical mass is reached, and now your soul collapses in upon itself.You're back inside the vessel of your body.Just one. Just you. Just an individual.Me. By Neal Shusterman Today Hospital Bit Morning Hour

Like everything else in his life, he crashed forward, caution the first casualty. By Neal Shusterman Life Forward Caution Casualty Crashed

You look spectacluar, Cam.' She smoothes out his shirt and straightens his tie. 'You look like the shining star you are!''Let's hope I don't give birth to complex elements.'She looks at him quizzically.'Supernova,' he says. 'If I'm a shining star, let's hope I don't blow up. By Neal Shusterman Cam Spectacluar Supernova Hope Shining

Exactly," says the parrot. "WHY are you here? Or should I ask 'Why are YOU here?' Or 'Why are you HERE? By Neal Shusterman Parrot

What can fingerprints mean when they're not necessarily yours? By Neal Shusterman Fingerprints Necessarily

She was deemed an unfit mother, in spite of the fact that she goes to the gym every day,' Hal once told me. ... Beautiful people are often forgiven for many thingsand maybe she's gotten through life that way, but I don't forgive her for anythingand I don't even know what awful things she's done other than showing a lack of parental fitness. By Neal Shusterman Hal Mother Day Deemed Unfit

I could take you out in a second," she threatens.If he's concerned, he doesn't show it. "I know."Somehow he also knows that she won't do it - that the first time was just a reflex. If she were to hurt him a second time, though, it would be a conscious act. It would be by choice. By Neal Shusterman Concerned Threatensif Show Time Know

When you truly start to care about someone you become vulnerable to all sorts of things. By Neal Shusterman Things Start Care Vulnerable Sorts

There are few things he can stand less than a bunch of morons standing around looking at something that doesn't work and wondering who's going to fix it. By Neal Shusterman Things Stand Bunch Morons Standing

Looks are deceiving," Risa says. "After all, when I first saw you I thought you looked reasonably intelligent. By Neal Shusterman Risa Deceiving Intelligent Thought Looked

Do I look feeble to you""Actually, yes.""Well, looks can be deceiving. For instance, when I met you, I thought you look reasonably intelligent. By Neal Shusterman Yes Deceiving Feeble Instance Intelligent

Stick with me," CyFi had said, putting his fist in the air, "and as God is my witness, you will never go hungry again." Then he added, "That's from Gone with the Wind. By Neal Shusterman God Stick Cyfi Putting Air

They never could prove it was him, but everybody knew. He had to admit, it wasn't one of his shining moments, but he knew he had had to do something to a man who didn't think Starkey was good enough to breathe the same air as his own children. The guy simply had to be punished for that kind of behavior.All of it seemed to pale now that he was a murderer. But no - It would do him no good to think of himself that way. Better to think of himself as a warrior: a foot soldier in the war against unwinding. Soldiers were given medals for taking out the enemy, weren't they? So even though that night in the alley still plagues him in moments of insecurity, most of the time his conscience is clear. By Neal Shusterman Knew Prove Good Starkey Moments

The Chop Shop is soundproof. Somehow he knew it would be. By Neal Shusterman Chop Shop Soundproof Knew

They signed the unwind order just to spite each other,but laugh,laugh,laugh,Hayden, because if you ever stop laughing,it might just tear you apart worse than a Chop Shop. By Neal Shusterman Shop Chop Otherbut Signed Unwind

I imagine the center of the Earth must be a crowded place by now, but perhaps it is the spirits of those of us residing there that keep the Earth alive and green. By Neal Shusterman Earth Green Imagine Center Crowded

The woman wears a floral print blouse with lots of leaves and pink flowers. Risa would like to attack her with a weed whacker. By Neal Shusterman Flowers Woman Wears Floral Print

You think just because we got stars up here we can wish on 'em and make everything better By Neal Shusterman Stars Make

I'm Switzerland; neutral as can be, and also with great chocolate. By Neal Shusterman Switzerland Neutral Chocolate Great

Hey," says Hayden, "I'm Switzerland; neutral as can be, and also with great chocolate.""Get lost," Roland tells him."Already am." And Hayden strolls away. By Neal Shusterman Hey Switzerland Roland Hayden Neutral

I came running down the stairs that morning, like it was Christmas. My parents were already up. In my family, presents never waited; they were there upon waking. Our family has a problem with what they called delayed gratification. We want what we want when we want it, and we always want it now. By Neal Shusterman Christmas Morning Running Stairs Family

Beautiful machines from 1920s and '30s, when automobiles were both monstrous and sexy at the same time. By Neal Shusterman Beautiful Time Machines Automobiles Monstrous

No one ever answered my question," Hayden says. "Looks like no one has the guts" "Which one?" Asks Connor. " You've got questions coming out of you like farts on Thanksgiving. By Neal Shusterman Hayden Answered Connor Thanksgiving Guts

The way I see it, it's got nothing to do with all of that. It has to do with love ... A person don't got a soul until that person is loved. If a mother loves her babywants her babyit's got a soul from the moment she knows it's there. The moment you're loved, that's when you got your soul.Diego By Neal Shusterman Loved Soul Moment Person Love

You tell your brother he's gonna pay for that car in silver. By Neal Shusterman Silver Brother Gonna Pay Car

Guilt is the idiot cousin of remorse, By Neal Shusterman Guilt Remorse Idiot Cousin

Our bodies form a symbol, I think, as powerful as one of Hal's - and it occurs to me that the most meaningful symbols of all must be based on all the different ways two people can embrace. By Neal Shusterman Hal Embrace Bodies Form Powerful

Freedom isn't freedom when you're addicted to it By Neal Shusterman Freedom Addicted

It comes with being sixteen," Mom said. "You teenagers, you go into a cocoon when you turn fifteen and don't come out for years." "So they become butterflies when they finally come out?" my little sister Christina asked. "No," Mom said. "They're still caterpillars, only now they're big fat caterpillars that smell. By Neal Shusterman Mom Sixteen Christina Caterpillars Teenagers

In spite of my wisecracking, pain-in-the-ass ways, I was the clip that held things together. Unnoticed. Taken for granted. Okay, maybe I'm giving myself too much credit here, but I'd be damned if I was gonna keep on being the family paper clip. By Neal Shusterman Wisecracking Spite Held Things Clip

This game could last for days if I keep going unconscious.""Or it could be over very quickly."Lev takes a deep breath and tries not to show any more fear than he has to. "Sounds exciting. I'm in. By Neal Shusterman Lev Unconscious Quickly Sounds Game

Did you ever get the feeling that everything was too perfect? Like the moment was so good that something had to be wrong? Kind of like the way a fish sees that bright, shiny lure just before it chomps down and gets hauled out of water to become someone's lunch. By Neal Shusterman Perfect Feeling Wrong Kind Bright

Then his eyes glazed over for a second. 'I go places sometimes,' he told me, his voice as thready as his eyes. 'Don't know why I go places ... I just do. By Neal Shusterman Eyes Glazed Places Told Voice

When you drop a pebble into a pond, ripples spread out, changing all the water in the pool. The ripples hit the shore and rebound, bumping into one another, breaking each other apart. In some small way, the pond is never the same again. By Neal Shusterman Changing Pool Ripples Drop Pebble

This place isn't a refuge, it's a slave market. Why doesn't anyone see that?''Who says they don't see it? It's just that unwinding makes slavery look good. It's always the lesser of two evils.''I don't see why there have to be any evils at all. By Neal Shusterman Refuge Market Place Slave Good

It's just that unwinding makes slavery look good. It's always the lesser of two evils. By Neal Shusterman Good Unwinding Makes Slavery Evils

It's always the lesser of two evils.''I don't see why there have to be any evils at all.'-Connor By Neal Shusterman Connor Lesser Evils Evils All

I marveled that people could live so close - that you could literally be surrounded by thousands who were only inches away - and yet be completely isolated. I found it hard to imagine. It's not so hard for me to imagine anymore. By Neal Shusterman Close Isolated Marveled People Live

I have no doubt that, one way or another, you'll fill the empty spaces left behind. By Neal Shusterman Doubt Fill Empty Spaces Left

I don't know what happens to our consciousness when we're unwound," says Connor. "I don't even know when that consciousness starts. But I do know this." He pauses to make sure all of them are listening. "We have a right to our lives!"The kids go wild."We have a right to choose what happens to our bodies!"The cheers reach fever pitch."We deserve a world where both those things are possible - and it's our job to help make that world. By Neal Shusterman Connor Unwound Consciousness Make World

She leaves him alone with the arm. His arm. An arm that bears the unmistakable tattoo of a tiger shark. By Neal Shusterman Arm Leaves Shark Bears Unmistakable

It made my blood boil so hot, my brain stopped working right. By Neal Shusterman Hot Made Blood Boil Brain

I have a color-coded computer spreadsheet that divides things down to chapter fragments. Each character's point-of-view is a different color. The text of the manuscript is color-coded the same way. The last thing I do before submitting the manuscript is turn all those colors back to black. By Neal Shusterman Fragments Computer Spreadsheet Divides Chapter

What's the point of living if you're going to hate the world? Guard your heart if you have to, but don't shut it away. By Neal Shusterman World Point Living Hate Guard

This is not going to be easy. I'm good at being bad, but I'm bad at being good. I don't know the first thing about good deeds. By Neal Shusterman Easy Good Bad Deeds Thing

I wasn't expecting that. It hit me in a place I didn't know was there. All I could think of was one of those medical shows. They're operating on some poor slob, they accidentally nick an artery, and he starts gushing. 'We got a bleeder!' the surgeon yells, and everybody comes rushing to the operating table. Nobody was rushing to me, though. By Neal Shusterman Expecting Rushing Operating Hit Place

Shouldn't those who were born to expect death be the sole subjects of gleaning?" went the popular wisdom. But it was bigotry masquerading as wisdom. Selfishness posing as enlightenment. By Neal Shusterman Wisdom Gleaning Born Expect Death

Truth is truth. Implications are subjective. People will hear your words and draw their own conclusion. By Neal Shusterman Truth Implications Subjective People Conclusion

What does it take to unwind the unwanted? It takes twelve surgeons, in teams of two, rotating in and out as their medical specialty is needed. It takes nine surgical assistants and four nurses. It takes three hours. By Neal Shusterman Unwanted Unwind Surgeons Rotating Needed

Hole ... " He grips Risa's hand tighter. "Hole, Risa, hole ... " And she smiles "Yes, Connor," she says. "You're whole. You're finally whole. By Neal Shusterman Hole Risa Connor Tighter Grips

Everything feels right with the world ... ... and the sad thing is that I know it's a dream. I know it must soon end, and when it does I will be thrust awake into a place where either I'm broken, or the world is broken. By Neal Shusterman World Feels Broken Dream Sad

I thought 'UnSouled' would come in at around 400 pages, but it took 650 pages, and even then I felt like I was rushing the conclusion, so I asked my editor and publisher if I could divide it again. So a sequel became a trilogy, and the trilogy became a tetralogy - although we're not calling it that. By Neal Shusterman Pages Unsouled Thought Conclusion Felt

The pain of knowing is killing me more than killing me would kill me, so I jump just to end it. By Neal Shusterman Killing Pain Knowing Kill Jump

We weren't going anywhere, Nick said with a smile. He was trying to sound charming, but instead wound up sounding heavily sedated. By Neal Shusterman Nick Smile Charming Sedated Sound

The exploration of possibility has always been the realm of science. The true scientist leave practical application to others. By Neal Shusterman Science Exploration Possibility Realm True

She idly wonders which is crueler, man or nature. She determines it must be man. Nature has no remorse, but neither does it have malice. By Neal Shusterman Crueler Man Idly Nature Remorse

When, she wonders, did she stop being a child? The law says it was when she turned eighteen, but the law doesn't know her. By Neal Shusterman Child Stop Law Eighteen Turned

I was using," I tell her. "And God was my drug dealer."She doesn't get it."Tripping on my own brain chemicals. The dope I was doing was already inside. By Neal Shusterman Tripping God Dealer Chemicals Drug

My fans have always been so supportive, and several years ago, I realized that I could thank them by naming all my characters after my Twitter and Facebook fans. By Neal Shusterman Twitter Facebook Fans Supportive Ago

If love of money is the root of all evil, then having money is the root of all boredom. When you can have everything, you find there's nothing you really want. When you can do anything, you find there's nothing you really care to do. You become lazy. Life feels like a boulder you don't want to lift. By Neal Shusterman Root Money Evil Boredom Find

He (Connor) will only do the wrong thing when it's the right thing to do. - Risa By Neal Shusterman Connor Risa Thing Wrong

[ ... ] every time he forces himself to think before acting, it's her voice in his head telling him to slow down. He wants to tell her, but she's always so busy in the medical jet - and you don't just go to somebody and say, I'm a better person because you're in my head. By Neal Shusterman Acting Head Time Forces Voice

And I think, if thoughts are worth a penny, how much less promises must be worth. Especially the ones you're likely to break. By Neal Shusterman Penny Worth Thoughts Promises Break

He's become like that briefcase in the ground-full of gems yet void of light, so nothing sparkles, nothing shines. By Neal Shusterman Light Sparkles Shines Briefcase Groundfull

The eternally sleeping princess, thinks Cam. But I shall free you from those poisoned brambles that surround your heart. And then you will have no choice but to love me. By Neal Shusterman Cam Princess Eternally Sleeping Heart

Picking locks was not a skill he had ever cultivated, but he persisted day after day, turning the tip of his talon into different ways of approaching a keyhole. He never tired, and he ever gave up ... because if there was any justice in the universe, he wouldn't be trapped here forever. By Neal Shusterman Day Picking Cultivated Turning Keyhole

I wonder what life will be like a millennium from now, when the average age will be nearer to one thousand. Will we all be renaissance children, skilled at every art and science, because we've had time to master them? Or will boredom and slavish routine plague us even more than it does today, giving us less of a reason to live limitless lives? I dream of the former, but I suspect the latter. By Neal Shusterman Thousand Life Millennium Average Age

On my fifteenth birthday, I came to realize that the expression spoiled rotten meant exactly that. We kids were the apples of our parents' eyes, and I, for one, was rotting from inside out. By Neal Shusterman Birthday Fifteenth Realize Expression Spoiled

Now he's far away, floating in the clouds, playing Scrabble with the Dalai Lama, but wouldn't you know it, all the tiles are in Tibetan. By Neal Shusterman Lama Tibetan Scrabble Dalai Floating

He will only do the wrong thing when it's the right thing to do.. By Neal Shusterman Thing Wrong

How easy is murder when one calls it by a different name? How much easier is it for the conscience to condone "reaping" than "killing" - and when one knows that death isn't the end, does it stop the killing hand for fear of retribution, or does it simply make it easier to kill, because, if life continues, how can murder be murder at all? By Neal Shusterman Murder Easy Calls Easier Killing

WFor to put oneself above the law is a fundamental recipe for disaster. By Neal Shusterman Wfor Disaster Put Oneself Law

The homes here are almost identical, but not quite, full of people almost identical, but not quite. By Neal Shusterman Identical Full Homes People

First rule of motherhood, dearie: men are screw-ups. Learn it now and you'll be a whole lot happier. By Neal Shusterman Dearie Motherhood Men Screwups Rule

Who he was and who he will be are connected only by the fine, nearly invisible thread of who he is now. By Neal Shusterman Fine Connected Invisible Thread

Think of it this way," he said "It took nine months to get you born, so doesn't it figure it would take nine months to get you dead? By Neal Shusterman Months Born Dead Figure

My grandmother used to say that twisting paths always cross again," he told her. "And whose paths are more twisted than ours? By Neal Shusterman Paths Grandmother Twisting Cross Told

Whoever invented the spork should be killed. By Neal Shusterman Killed Invented Spork

The way I see it, the impossible happens all the time; but we're so good at taking it for granted, we forget it was once impossible. By Neal Shusterman Impossible Time Granted Good Taking

To get the man off her back, she finally looked out of her window. She thought she would find patchwork farmlands, but they were already above the suburban sprawl that surrounded the city. It was twilight - the sky was full of color, but she didn't look up. She could only look to the ground, where streetlights were already beginning to come on. To Lindsay, it looked like a grid of computer chips, stretching out for miles and miles. So many people, she thought. Lindsay could count on a single hand the people who really cared about her. And now, outside her 747 window, was a brutal reminder of how many people didn't. By Neal Shusterman Back People Man Finally Window

Part of my job is to help other kids find books, because not everyone has a keenly organized mind. Some kids could wander the library for hours and still have no idea how to find anything. For them, the Dewey Decimal System might as well be advanced calculus. By Neal Shusterman Part Books Mind Kids Find

Lev looks at Risa, almost afraid to ask the obvious question. Finally he says, 'Uh ... why do we have a baby?''Ask him,' says Risa.Stone-faced, Conner looks out of the window. 'They're looking for two boys and a girl. Having a baby will throw them off.''Great,' snaps Risa. 'Maybe we should all pick up a baby along the way. By Neal Shusterman Risa Lev Question Baby Afraid

The question wasn't whether or not I cared about him; the question was, how much? I'm glad Tennyson didn't ask that, because then I'd have to ask myself; and I already knew the answer. I cared far more than was safe. By Neal Shusterman Question Cared Tennyson Answer Glad

It's called loitering, which is like littering with human beings as the trash. By Neal Shusterman Loitering Trash Called Littering Human

Before I start, I trick myself into thinking I know what's going to happen in the story, but the characters have ideas of their own, and I always go with the character's choices. Most of the time I discover plot twists and directions that are better than what I originally had planned. By Neal Shusterman Start Story Choices Characters Character

Have you ever considered how lonely it is to be the girl on a pedestal? By Neal Shusterman Pedestal Considered Lonely Girl

It is human nature to take the most magical of worlds for granted, turning each one into a blank canvas upon which to paint the lives of those who would live there. Only an outsider can see a world's wonders for what they truly are. By Neal Shusterman Granted Turning Human Nature Magical

You think you want to know the secrets of the universe. You think you want to see the way things all fit together. You believe in your heart of hearts that enlightenment will save the world and set you free. Maybe it will. But the path to enlightenment is rarely a pleasant one. By Neal Shusterman Universe Secrets Enlightenment Things Fit

Fight, flight, and screw up royaly. By Neal Shusterman Fight Flight Royaly Screw

She smiles at them as they go by and continues to play, making it clear that this furnace of a place, full of planes that cannot fly, is more than it seems. It is a womb of redemption for every Unwind, and fora ll those who fought the Heartland War and lost - which was everybody. By Neal Shusterman Play Making Place Full Fly

One cannot let the events of one's past murder one's future. By Neal Shusterman Future Events Past Murder

This is how he always imagined- a dangerous place full of mystery and violent kids. By Neal Shusterman Imagined Kids Dangerous Place Full

No one knows wether you're a monster or a hero.""Is there a third choice? By Neal Shusterman Hero Choice Wether Monster

The Bill of Life was signed, the Unwind Accord went into effect, and the war was over. Everyone was so happy to end the war, no one cared about the consequences By Neal Shusterman Bill Life Unwind Accord War

Fine," Connor tells him. "Think about stuff until your head explodes. But the only thing I want to think about is surviving to eighteen."I find your shallowness both refreshing and disappointing at the same time. Do you think that means I need therapy? By Neal Shusterman Connor Fine Explodes Eighteen Time

It stands as an unspoken warning to everyy Unwind there. You will get with the program,or your stay here will be very, very, short. The lesson is always learned. By Neal Shusterman Unwind Short Stands Unspoken Warning

Connor smiles with mocking warmth at him, and glances at the tattoo on his wrist. I like your dolphin. By Neal Shusterman Connor Wrist Smiles Mocking Warmth

At last, he allows himself the wonderful luxury of hope. By Neal Shusterman Hope Wonderful Luxury

#5) YOU ARE BETTER THAN THOSE WHO WOULD UNWIND YOU. RISE TO THE OCCASION. By Neal Shusterman Unwind Rise Occasion

I have no idea,' he tells her, and there is such a spark in his eye when he says it, she can tell having no idea is exactly the way he wants it. By Neal Shusterman Idea Spark Eye

But life doesn't end," the smiling proponents of unwinding all insist. "It just transforms. We like to call it 'living in a divided state.' By Neal Shusterman End Insist Life Smiling Proponents

When faced with the end of all things, it was much easier to nibble at it than take it in large, indigestible bites. By Neal Shusterman Things Large Indigestible Bites Faced

Today he failed to change the world. As for tomorrow, who can tell? By Neal Shusterman Today World Failed Change Tomorrow

Nature deemed that to be born was an automatic sentence to death, and then brought about that death with vicious consistency. We By Neal Shusterman Nature Consistency Death Deemed Born

She sighed, knowing she couldn't push it any further. "Thank you for being so ... merciful," Allie said. "But I would appreciate it if Pea-brain here would keep his hands off me.""That's Pinhead," corrected the boy. "Pea-brain works in the engine room. By Neal Shusterman Sighed Knowing Peabrain Push Allie

I've found that human beings learn from their misdeeds just as often as from their good deeds. I am envious of that, for I am incapable of misdeeds. Were I not, then my growth would be exponential. By Neal Shusterman Deeds Misdeeds Found Human Learn

I was actually being sincere," Connor admits. "But I'm happy to insult you, if that's what you want. By Neal Shusterman Connor Sincere Admits Happy Insult

You come to know the pattern of your particular chemical bombardment. The numbness, the lack of focus, the artificial sense of peace when the meds first hit your system. The growing paranoia and anxiety as they wane. The worse you feel, the more you can get into the treacherous waters of your own thoughts. The greater the threat from the inside, the more you long for those waters, as if you've grown accustomed to the terrible tentacles that seek to draw you into their crushing embrace. By Neal Shusterman Bombardment Pattern Chemical Waters Numbness

Great tragedies have great consequences. They ripple through the fabric of this world and the next. When the loss is too great for either world to bear, Everlost absorbs the shock, like a cushion between the two. By Neal Shusterman Consequences Great Tragedies World Everlost

To name her is to sink her," he told me. "That which we name takes greater weight than the sea it displaces. Ask any shipwreck. By Neal Shusterman Sink Told Displaces Shipwreck Greater

I love you, Risa," he says. "Every last part of me. By Neal Shusterman Risa Love Part

Such a delicate charge as pruning the human race should not be subject to the quirks of personality. By Neal Shusterman Personality Delicate Charge Pruning Human

What, are you totally psycho?" I shouted."Maybe I am!" he screamed back at me. "Maybe that's just what I am. Maybe I'm that quiet guy who suddenly goes nuts and then you find half the neighborhood in his freezer." I gotta admit, that one stumped me for a second - but only for a second. "Which half?" I asked. "Huh?" "Which half of the neighborhood? Could you make it the people on the other side of Avenue T, because I never really liked them anyway. By Neal Shusterman Psycho Half Totally Neighborhood Huh

The whole place is a petri dish of angst, generated by kids whose parents gave up on them, which is the worst kind of angst there is. There are fights and ridiculous posturing on a daily basis. By Neal Shusterman Angst Generated Place Petri Dish

And so, as the mob backs away to give them space ... as the riot police holster their weapons, standing down, and as Risa takes the podium, calming the crowd with a voice as soothing as a sonata, Connor Lassiter holds his family like he'll never let them go. By Neal Shusterman Space Mob Backs Give Connor

Nothing stays wondrous forever. It's human nature to grow accustomed to that which becomes normal, even if it's a new shade of normal. By Neal Shusterman Forever Normal Stays Wondrous Human

My artwork isn't evolving, it's deconstructing, and I don't know why. By Neal Shusterman Evolving Deconstructing Artwork

Everyone needs someone to blame. By Neal Shusterman Blame

Conner Lassiter. Scheduled to be unwound the 21st of November-until you went AWOL. You caused an accident that killed a bus driver, left dozens of others injured, and shut down an interstate highway for hours. Then, on top of it, you took a hostage AND shot a Juvey-cop with his own tranq gun." ... "He's the Akron AWOL?! By Neal Shusterman Lassiter Conner Awol Novemberuntil Scheduled

The captain is supposed to go down with the ship" . "unless the first mate knocks him out and throws him in a lifeboat By Neal Shusterman Ship Lifeboat Captain Supposed Mate

He also keeps his silence when Bible passages become shredded to justify unwinding, and kids start to see the face of God in the fragments. By Neal Shusterman Bible God Unwinding Fragments Silence

How much do you know about the Heartland War?' Connor shrugs. 'It was the last chapter in our history textbook, but we had state testing, so we never got to it. By Neal Shusterman War Heartland Connor Shrugs Textbook

Wars have a way reinventing people. And making too many things disappear.-Sonia By Neal Shusterman Sonia Wars People Reinventing Disappear

That's legally blind, I'm not legally blind" "Yes, she's illegally blind By Neal Shusterman Blind Legally Illegally

Dreams can twist your emotions like no reality can. By Neal Shusterman Dreams Twist Emotions Reality

while it's five in the morning here, it's also five in the evening somewhere in China - proving that incompatible truths make perfect sense when seen with global perspective. By Neal Shusterman China Proving Perspective Morning Evening

I feel her wave of worry like a patio heater - faint and ineffective, but constant. By Neal Shusterman Heater Faint Ineffective Constant Feel

Chain of command knows no age restrictions," he once told Connor. "You could be six, but if you were my superior, I'd still do as I was told. By Neal Shusterman Connor Chain Restrictions Told Command

Do I get paid, too?''Yes,' he said without hesitation. This scared me, because Crawley gave money like bulls gave milk: not at all, and you get gored for asking. If he had already decided this was a paying job, it must be horrible beyond words. By Neal Shusterman Paid Hesitation Crawley Gave Milk

Crawley reached into the pocket of his fancy robe - a dinner jacket, I think it's called. The kind of thing Professer Plum would wear before killing Colonel Mustard in the ballroom with the candlestick. By Neal Shusterman Crawley Robe Jacket Called Reached

Eventually your body will learn the alliances it has to make with itself,' Kenny had said - as if Cam was a factory full of strike-prone workers, or worse, a clutch of slaves forced into unwanted labor. By Neal Shusterman Kenny Cam Eventually Workers Worse

Sometimes we make our alliances not by the shape and color of our flesh but by the convictions of our heart. By Neal Shusterman Heart Make Alliances Shape Color

Is that why you're here?" Ben blurted "To glean one of us?" Scythe Faraday offered an unreadable smile. "I'm here for dinner. By Neal Shusterman Faraday Ben Blurted Scythe Smile

Maybe we're standing like coins on the edge?"Allie considered this. "Meaning?""Meaning, we might be able to shake things up a little, and find a way to come up heads.""Or tails," suggested Allie."What are you talking about?" said Lief."Life and death. By Neal Shusterman Meaning Allie Edge Allie Lief

Scythe Curie seemed a mix of many emotions, but she folded them all away, like clothes that no longer fit, and closed the drawer. Citra expected she never spoke of this to anyone else, and would probably never speak of it again. By Neal Shusterman Curie Scythe Emotions Fit Drawer

Keep me warm. I have no warmth of my own- only what the sun brings me, and the sun is halfway around the world. Keep me warm. By Neal Shusterman Warm Sun World Warmth Brings

I'm evolving, is the thing; I'm a god becoming a constellation.''The constellations are mostly demigods,' I point out. 'And they didn't get to be constellations until after they died.'He laughs at that, and says, 'Death is a small sacrifice to become immortal. By Neal Shusterman Evolving Thing Demigods Constellations God

Facts never prevent the ignorant from jerking their knees into the groin of science. By Neal Shusterman Facts Science Prevent Ignorant Jerking

Those eyes of his just look up at me, pupils dilated in the diffused lights of the room. Wide, black pools, seeking out galaxies. By Neal Shusterman Pupils Room Wide Eyes Dilated

He felt a fluttering inside his chest that he mistook for an air pocket - probably left from when he pushed himself through the cage. He had no way of knowing that the fluttering was a single beat from the fleeting memory of a heart. By Neal Shusterman Pocket Cage Fluttering Felt Inside

I used to be afraid of dying. Now I'm afraid of not living. There's a difference. We go through life planning for a future, but sometimes that future never comes. By Neal Shusterman Dying Afraid Future Living Difference

On a sunny Tuesday - for it seems so many awful things happen on a Tuesday - six astronauts and one schoolteacher attempted to pierce the sky. Instead they touched the stars. By Neal Shusterman Tuesday Sky Sunny Awful Things

I don't want to be empty on the inside. By Neal Shusterman Inside Empty

You don't undo thirteen years of brainwashing in two days. By Neal Shusterman Days Undo Thirteen Years Brainwashing

The scariest thing of all is never knowing what you're suddenly going to believe. By Neal Shusterman Scariest Thing Knowing Suddenly

Epiphanies are never convenient, and often arrive too late. By Neal Shusterman Epiphanies Convenient Late Arrive

You are only one boy, with one voice ... If you keep trying to be a choir, you'll lose that voice, and then who will hear you? By Neal Shusterman Voice Boy Choir Lose Hear

It's amazing that something as simple as a kiss can overpower the worst of worries. By Neal Shusterman Worries Amazing Simple Kiss Overpower

So what happens when your universe begins to get off balance, and you don't have any experience with bringing it back to center? All you can do is fight a losing battle, waiting for those walls to collapse, and your life to become one huge mystery ashtray. By Neal Shusterman Balance Center Universe Begins Experience

A true leader never puts his ego ahead of his assets. By Neal Shusterman Assets True Leader Puts Ego

Who would have thought that the singular whole of her forgiveness was a more valuable gift than a hundred of her parts? By Neal Shusterman Parts Thought Singular Forgiveness Valuable

You should learn to relish the hunger more than the feast, lest you become a glutton. By Neal Shusterman Feast Glutton Learn Relish Hunger

Talking about someone in the third person is rude." Cam tells her coolly."Really?" Says Connor. "When you're a hundred people, wouldn't third person be a compliment? By Neal Shusterman Talking Rude Person Connor Cam

Dead kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under the rug. By Neal Shusterman Dead Pedestals Rug Kids Put

Of course, if more people had been organ donors, unwinding never would have happened ... but people like to keep what's theirs, even after their dead. It didnt take long for ethics to be crushed by greed. Unwinding became big business, and people let it happen By Neal Shusterman Donors Happened People Unwinding Organ

If more people had been organ donors, unwinding never would have happened ... but people like to keep what's theirs, even after they're dead. By Neal Shusterman Donors Unwinding Happened People Organ

It was at that moment he realized that his spirit was truly human once more. For he no longer remembered how to be alone without being lonely. By Neal Shusterman Moment Realized Spirit Human Lonely

It's that quirky kind of weekend feeling they write ridiculous sunny-day songs about. You know the onesI'm sure they're on your iPod even though you'd never admit it. By Neal Shusterman Quirky Kind Weekend Feeling Write

You're going to pee in someone's suitcase?""Do you have any other ideas?"And suddenly Miracolina begins to snicker, then giggle, then giggle, then cackle uncontrollably. "He's going to pee in someone's suitcase!""Quiet! Do you want people on the bus to hear you?"But Miracolina is beyond help. She's entered into a fullfledged laughter fit-the kind that leaves your stomach hurting. "They're gonna open their suitcase," she blurts between bursts of glee, "And their clothes'll be full of pee! By Neal Shusterman Giggle Suitcase Pee Miracolina Quiet

She plays music to heal herself, but nothing can heal her brokenness. By Neal Shusterman Brokenness Heal Plays Music

You're confusing boredom with obsession. By Neal Shusterman Obsession Confusing Boredom

You see demons in the eyes of the world, and the world sees a bottomless pit in yours. By Neal Shusterman World Demons Eyes Bottomless Pit

Ghost implies a whole lot of things that I am NOT. Do I look like Casper to you?""Fine," said Nick. "We're not ghosts, we're Undefined Spectral Doohickies. USDs. Are you happy now? By Neal Shusterman Fine Nick Implies Lot Things

This book is so interesting. I always wonder what's going to happen next. By Neal Shusterman Interesting Book Happen

what makes it funny to people is that it's a gross distortion of something very familiar. For By Neal Shusterman Familiar Makes Funny People Gross

The Admiral's using us," he says to the kids around him. "Don't you see that?"Most of the kids just shrug, but Hayden's there, and he never misses an opportunity to add his peculiar wisdom to a situation. "I'd rather be used whole than in pieces," Hayden says. By Neal Shusterman Admiral Kids Hayden Shrug Situation

No, it's not!" says Emby."Hey - he wanted my opinion, I gave it.""But it's wrong!""You see, Hayden? You see what you started?""Yes!" Hayden says excitedly. "It looks like we're about to have our own little Heartland War. Pity it's too dark for us to watch it. By Neal Shusterman Hey Emby Hayden Opinion Wrong

Milestone! This is a momentous occasion," he tells her cheerily. "It should be witnessed by a friend." She throws him an icy gaze, and he does a verbal back pedal. "Aaaand since no friends are present, I'll have to do. By Neal Shusterman Milestone Aaaand Occasion Cheerily Momentous

His life has been like a ballpark, hasn't it? All lines, structure, and rules, never changing. But now he's been hit over the wall into unknown territory. By Neal Shusterman Ballpark Structure Life Lines Rules

Don't I have a choice in this? But when she looks behind her, the answer isclear. There are two guards waiting to make sure that she has no choice at all.And as they lead her away, she thinks of Mr. Durkin. With a bitter laugh, Risarealizes that he may get his wish after all. Someday he may see her hands playingin Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately, the rest of Risa won't be there. By Neal Shusterman Choice Durkin Risarealizes Hall Isclear

I must be doing something right if the crazies think I'm as powerful as the Antichrist. By Neal Shusterman Antichrist Crazies Powerful

Schwa: The faint vowel sound in many unstressed syllables in the English language. It is signified by the pronunciation "uh" and represented by the symbol upside down e. For example, the e in overlook, the a in forgettable, and the o in run-of-the-mill.It is the most common vowel sound in the English language. By Neal Shusterman English Language Schwa Sound Vowel

What he's really saying is: Please be a human being. With a life so full of rules and regiments, it's so easy to forget that's what they are. She knows - she sees - how often compassion takes a back seat to expediency. By Neal Shusterman Human Regiments Expediency Life Full

Even an acknowledgment from someone who hates him is better than having no one but strangers watch him perish. By Neal Shusterman Perish Acknowledgment Hates Strangers Watch

I begin to wonder if David was like me. Seeing monsters everywhere and realizing there aren't enough slingshots in the world to get rid of them. By Neal Shusterman David Begin Monsters Realizing Slingshots

We're roughage," Tyger said. "If we don't cause a little intestinal distress, no one knows we're there. By Neal Shusterman Tyger Roughage Distress Intestinal

I've had enough of organizations for a while, no matter how good the cause. I prefer being a free-agent rabble-rouser. Dan By Neal Shusterman Organizations Matter Good Dan Rabblerouser

Anger is only our friend when we know its caliber and how to aim it. By Neal Shusterman Anger Friend Caliber Aim

Good thing about bad rubbish is you can make the stench go away just by covering it up. It never comes back as long as you keep a tight lid on it. By Neal Shusterman Good Thing Bad Rubbish Make

Does a sick society get so used to its illness that it can't remember being well? what if the memory is too dangerous for the people who like things the way they are? By Neal Shusterman Sick Society Illness Remember Memory

You don't like her, do you?" "Who, me? No, I love her dearly. Evil scheming bitches are my favorite kind of people." (Risa) By Neal Shusterman Risa Dearly Evil People Love

Sharks have a deadly form of claustrophobia. It's not so much fear of enclosed spaces as it is inability to exist in them. No one knows why. Some say it's the metal in aquariums that throws their equilibrium off. But whatever it is, big sharks don't last long in captivity By Neal Shusterman Claustrophobia Deadly Form Sharks Fear

In the backseat Moose and Squirrel inhabited a pair of six-year-old-twins, and wouldn't stop bickering and picking their noses. They were clearly in their element. By Neal Shusterman Moose Squirrel Noses Backseat Inhabited

I should already know that my thoughts are never alone. By Neal Shusterman Thoughts

Sometimes, though, you make a pact with yourself. I'll pretend there's nothing wrong if you pretend there's nothing wrong. It's called denial, and it's one of the strongest pacts in the world. Just ask all those people who were still drinking champagne while the Titanic went down. By Neal Shusterman Make Pretend Wrong Titanic Denial

I think all mothers are alike, regardless of cultural background, when it comes to illogical cleaning. By Neal Shusterman Alike Background Cleaning Mothers Cultural

But birthdays are random ... Defining one's life by the day one was cut from an umbilical cord is completely arbitrary. By Neal Shusterman Random Birthdays Defining Arbitrary Life

My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There's no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that. By Neal Shusterman Joy Greatest Humanity Peace Comfort

There are mysteries in Everlost. Some of them are wonderful, and others scary. They should all be explored, though- perhaps that's why we're here: to experience the good and the bad that Everlost has to offer. By Neal Shusterman Everlost Mysteries Wonderful Scary Explored

Always been a goal-oriented girl. it was both her strength and her weakness. She had a drive to completion that always gets things done, but it also made her inflexible, and stubborn. Everlost By Neal Shusterman Girl Goaloriented Weakness Everlost Inflexible

Then they pull onto Route 66, heading east into a world that's ripe for saving By Neal Shusterman Route Heading Saving Pull East

Mortals fantasied that love was eternal and its loss unimaginable. Now we know neither is true. Love remained mortal, while we became eternal. By Neal Shusterman Unimaginable Fantasied Loss Love Eternal

Any weed dumb enough to grow tall ain't got no chance. It gets decapitated by the next train that comes through. By Neal Shusterman Chance Weed Dumb Grow Tall

His one-eight feels a whole lot bigger when I spend time hanging around in his grey matter. By Neal Shusterman Matter Oneeight Feels Lot Bigger

His life did not so much flash before his eyes, as slap him in the face By Neal Shusterman Eyes Face Life Flash Slap

Please give me a single reason why I shouldn't hurl myself beneath the wheels of that bus. By Neal Shusterman Bus Give Single Reason Hurl

It's funny how a flame can only burn your hand if you move too slow, you can tease it all you want and it never gets you, if your quick enough. By Neal Shusterman Slow Funny Flame Burn Hand

I'm too old to rage against the system. I just whine at it. By Neal Shusterman System Rage Whine

The measure of a man is not how much he suffers in the test, but how he comes out at the end. By Neal Shusterman Test End Measure Man Suffers

In a population of hundreds of millions, such a small number of people is a mere drop in the bucket ... but enough drops can make any bucket overflow By Neal Shusterman Millions Bucket Population Hundreds Small

Normally Connor would walk away from a conversation like this. His life is about tangibles: things you can see, hear and touch. God, souls, and all that has always been like a secret in a black box he couldn't see into, so it was easier just to leave it alone. Only now, he's inside the black box. By Neal Shusterman Connor Walk Conversation Black Box

Words don't hurt you. Which is one of the hugest criminal lies perpetrated by adults against children in this world. Because words hurt more than any physical pain. By Neal Shusterman Words Hurt World Pain Hugest

How do you judge the brightness of a light when you're the source? A spotlight can never see the shadows it casts. By Neal Shusterman Source Judge Brightness Light Casts

But we can't choose what we forget. The more we try to forget something, the more we end up remembering it. By Neal Shusterman Forget Choose End Remembering

When the truth hurts we always hate the messenger By Neal Shusterman Messenger Truth Hurts Hate

It does, Tennyson, because there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. There's a fine line between being assertive and being a bully. And you're on the wrong side of both lines. By Neal Shusterman Tennyson Fine Arrogance Line Confidence

I only remember fighting Ozzy O'Dell once. It was back in second grade. He threw these weird windmill-like punches, which was probably an early sign that the swim team was in his future. By Neal Shusterman Ozzy Remember Fighting Odell Grade

White Toyota crashed into a black Mercedes, for a moment blending into a blur By Neal Shusterman Mercedes Toyota White Blur Crashed

We'll never be ready. So I guess that means we're as ready as we'll ever be. By Neal Shusterman Ready Guess

I can't help what I have any more than you can help what you don't By Neal Shusterman

Why do they need you on Molokai?""I'm not at liberty to say.""'Not at liberty to say.' They should put that on your grave. 'Here lies Roberta Griswold. Whether or not she rests in peace, we're not at liberty to say. By Neal Shusterman Molokai Liberty Say Griswold Roberta

Have you given any thought to my offer?" Roberta asks her."I don't need to. I already gave you my answer.""It's very noble to stand on principle and refuse an unwound spine," Roberta says. "It does, however, represent a wrongful mind-set that is neither productive nor adaptive. It's backward, actually, and it makes you part of the problem. By Neal Shusterman Roberta Offer Thought Her Answer

No," says Ariana. "It was a dream. Reality got in the way, that's all. By Neal Shusterman Ariana Dream Reality

In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is. By Neal Shusterman Perfect White Wrong Difference World

Ooh, I like this one!" Connor says. "'Diminished prospects for future.' Sounds like a stock report! By Neal Shusterman Ooh Diminished Connor Future Sounds

Death doesn't just make all the world kin, it makes all religions one By Neal Shusterman Death Kin World Religions Make

It's a big question. Where do you begin to change the world? By Neal Shusterman Question Big World Begin Change

Lev smiles. Leave it to you to turn someone else's screwup into gold By Neal Shusterman Lev Smiles Leave Gold Turn

In short, there are mysteries of science and of soul that will never be understood no matter how hard we measure, no matter how strongly we believe, no matter how deep our think tanks and how high our aspirations. But as anyone will tell you - for we all know this within our hearts - the impossible happens and grand cosmic mysteries are solved on a regular basis, although most of the time the solutions lead to even greater mysteries. By Neal Shusterman Matter Mysteries Short Measure Aspirations

His life was a festival of excess that could not be contained. Deafening music, eye-popping bright colors, sugar added to almost everything he ate. Quinn's life was a bullet in a barrel ready to explode. By Neal Shusterman Contained Life Festival Excess Deafening

It was easier to deal with Tennyson when he was fighting me; but having him on my side was frightening, because now I didn't know who the enemy was. By Neal Shusterman Tennyson Frightening Easier Deal Fighting

Which side was I on? There was no time to search for answers. All I could do now was ride on a werewolf's back, toward a destiny as hidden as the dark side of the moon. By Neal Shusterman Side Answers Back Moon Time

The sad truth about humanity ... is that people believe what they're told. Maybe not the first time, but by the hundredth time, the craziest of ideas just becomes a given. By Neal Shusterman Humanity Told Time Sad Truth

Who am I? The sum of your dreams, the thrill you refuse to grasp, the unknown you fear. By Neal Shusterman Dreams Grasp Fear Sum Thrill

Respect doesn't come without a little resentment. By Neal Shusterman Respect Resentment

There was a time, before I wound up here, when I would have thought all this was funny. When I was a member of the world, and not a member of "the club." The world just loves to laugh at the absurdity of insanity. I By Neal Shusterman Time Funny Member Wound Thought

Even the darkest moments of one's life can be turned around and shed light for others. By Neal Shusterman Darkest Moments Life Turned Shed

We longed for healing and happiness - as if happiness is a state of being. But it's not. Happiness is a vector. It's movement. By Neal Shusterman Happiness Longed Healing State Vector

Do you know that if you take the books in an average school library and stretched out all those words into a single line, the line would go all the way around the world? Actually, I made that up, but doesn't it sound like it should be true? By Neal Shusterman Line World Books Average School

Funny how morality, which always seems so black and white can be influenced so completely by what you were raised to believe. By Neal Shusterman Funny Morality Black White Influenced

I know they call me low-cortical and all, but even so, I got this one corner of my brain that's like Grand Central Station. Stuff that other people can't figure out comes easy to me. By Neal Shusterman Station Grand Central Call Lowcortical

Survival is a dance between our needs and our consciences. By Neal Shusterman Survival Consciences Dance

I'm tired of eating your family's lousy, tasteless recipes," Dad said."Tasteless recipes? My grandmother's rolling in her grave!""It's from indigestion. By Neal Shusterman Tasteless Recipes Dad Lousy Said

The smile on my face is only there to mask what I'm feeling inside. By Neal Shusterman Inside Smile Face Mask Feeling

When you know the future ... you can either let that future happen to you, or be the one to create it. By Neal Shusterman Future Happen Create

As for the other team, there would be much weeping and gnashing of teeth, as the Bible says. By Neal Shusterman Bible Team Teeth Weeping Gnashing

Because if their own parents didn't care enough about them to keep them, who would want them in Heaven? By Neal Shusterman Heaven Parents Care

Wars are often waged not because of what we believe, but because of the things we want others to believe. By Neal Shusterman Wars Waged Things

So," says Lev, as casually as he can, "you wanna dance?" "Do you believe in the end of the world?" she responds. Lev shrugs. "I don't know. Why?" "Because the day after that is when I'll dance with you. By Neal Shusterman Lev Casually Wanna Dance World

Teenage rebellion is for suburban schoolchildren. Get over it. By Neal Shusterman Teenage Schoolchildren Rebellion Suburban

Lik the tree falling in the forest," says Ira."Huh?""You know, the old question - if a tree falls in a forest and no one's there to hear it, does it really make a sound?" Howie considers this. "Is it a pine forest, or oak?""What's the difference?""Oak is a much denser wood; it's more likely to be heard by someone on the freeway next to the forest where no one is. By Neal Shusterman Huh Ira Tree Forest Lik

From the end of the bar, the bartender threw a sidelong look at him, so Clarence pulled out a broken Bluetooth headset and fixed it to his ear."I learned this trick while traveling with Mikey," Clarence told Nick. "Makes my brand of crazy the same as everyone else's. By Neal Shusterman Clarence Mikey Nick Bluetooth Bar

I'm just saying that if we stopped fighting for lost causes, where would we be? By Neal Shusterman Stopped Fighting Lost

With hardly any effort at all, she made me feel special. Just like all the other people she toyed with. By Neal Shusterman Special Effort Made Feel