God did not intend for Irish kids to play in the sun, according to my mother.
Gloaming, Dad said. What? That word I couldn’t remember. Gloaming. That short, murky time between half-light and dark.
For one moment we are not failed tests and broken condoms and cheating on essays; we are crayons and lunch boxes and swinging so high our sneakers punch holes in the clouds. For one breath everything...
Eating was hard. Breathing was hard. Living was hardest.
Eating plain toast will detonate her. I'll have some honey.When the bread is done I scrape on a microscopic layer of it and pour a cup of coffee, black. She pretends not to listen or watch as I crunch...
Don’t let the hardness of the world steal the softness of your heart.
Do you know how much women loathe it when guys think every show of negative emotion is tied to our menstrual cycle, like we're sheep or something?
David stares at Mr. Neck, looks at the flag for a minute, then picks up his books and walks out of the room. He says a million things without saying a word. I make a note to study David Petrakis. I ha...
Brain: You don’t want this.Hormones: Dude, this is EXACTLY what I want.B: No, not like this—she's wasted.H: What's your point?B: She won't remember this, and if she does, she'll be angry.H: Do you see...
Be careful what you wish for. There's always a catch.
Art without emotion its like chocolate cake without sugar. It makes you gag.
A breath of steam trickles out, filled with the sobs of a grown woman breaking into girl-sized pieces.
You’re not dead, but you’re not alive, either. You’re a wintergirl.
You’re not dead, but you’re not alive, either. You’re a wintergirl, Lia-Lia, caught in between the worlds. You’re a ghost with a beating heart. Soon you’ll cross the border and be with me. I’m so stok...
You think you know everything about Thanksgiving, don’t you? …How the Native Americans saved the Pilgrims from starving…How the Pilgrims held a big feast to celebrate and say thank you: turkey, pumpki...
We'd itch the vermin feasting on our flesh and share the day's many rumors:The King had declared peace.No, the King was sending German and Russian mercenaries to destroy us.A ball of fire as big as a...
We had eight inches of snow last night. In any other part of the country, that would mean a snow day. Not in Syracuse. We never get snow days. It snows an inch in South Carolina, everything shuts down...
Think about love, or hate, or joy, or rage - whatever makes you feel something, makes your palms sweat or your toes curl. Focus on that feeling. When people don’t express themselves, they die one piec...
The parents are making threatening noises, turning dinner into performance art, with dad doing his Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation and mom playing Glenn Close in one of her psycho roles. I am the Vict...
Take your age the first time a stranger touchedyour body with danger in his hands,evil-minded...But it's not usually a stranger, is it<