"We writers can use our own longing - and frequently do - without ever having to understand or analyze it. That is why our stories are often wiser than we are."
— Marion Dane Bauer

"I don't have any of the answers, son. Never did. All I can do is keep asking the questions. Keep trying to make sense of why people do what they do.""
— Rodman Philbrick (The Last Book In The Universe)

"Crying can help, too. People are often afraid to cry because they are told that crying is for babies. Crying does not make you a baby, no matter what anyone says. There are times when people feel so bad that they can't express their feelings in words. At those times, crying helps."
— James Howe (The Hospital Book)

"The future is a trickster rabbit, full of surprises. Only the past is predictable. -Bobby Goodspeed"
— James Howe (The Misfits)

"This business of really knowing people, deep down, including your own self, it is not something you can learn in school or from a book. It takes your whole being to do it—your eyes and your ears, your brain and your heart. Maybe your heart most of all. —Bobby Goodspeed"
— James Howe (The Misfits)

"Sometimes kids just act impulsively, but it's because we have strong feelings, not because we're trying to make trouble. —Bobby Goodspeed"
— James Howe (The Misfits)

"Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will break our spirit. —Bobby Goodspeed"
— James Howe (The Misfits)

"Another thing I think about names is that they DO hurt. They hurt because we believe them. We think they are telling us something true about ourselves, something other people can see even if we don't. —Bobby Goodspeed"
— James Howe (The Misfits)

"The way I look at it, love does not necessarily make for a happy ending any more than winning does. What makes for a happy ending is what Addie said all along: freedom. The freedom to be who you are without anybody calling you names. —Bobby Goodspeed"
— James Howe (The Misfits)

"There's no such thing as a wasted wish. —Joe Bunch"
— James Howe (Totally Joe)

"A day can start out ordinary and end up being in the top ten. —Joe Bunch"
— James Howe (Totally Joe)

"I never thought I could write this much and now that it's coming to an end, I feel sad that I have to stop, sort of the way you feel at the end of a really good book and you know you're going to miss the main character. But in this case, the main character is me! Myself. Joe (formerly JoDan) Bunch. —Joe Bunch"
— James Howe (Totally Joe)

"But a light now waxed within him at the knowledge that such wonders as he had been shown could exist."
— Sylvia Engdahl (Enchantress from the Stars)

"Must a man then live as his fellows live, and never reach beyond? —Georyn"
— Sylvia Engdahl (Enchantress from the Stars)

"The human mind is incredible. It can do nothing without belief, yet practically anything with it.
—Elana's father"
— Sylvia Engdahl (Enchantress from the Stars)

"What is it, I wonder, that makes two people suddenly become important to each other? So important that everything else around them just fades away?
—Elana"
— Sylvia Engdahl (Enchantress from the Stars)

"People who love each other can no more keep from communicating than from breathing.

—Elana"
— Sylvia Engdahl (Enchantress from the Stars)

"It is the only happiness now possible to me, to know that all is well with you

—Georyn"
— Sylvia Engdahl (Enchantress from the Stars)

"Finally, you have to be able to get over a crush if it doesn't work out. A crush is like a love disease. It can drive you mad. Try not to let it get you down."
— Alec Greven (How to Talk to Girls)

"If it doesn't work out, just let it go. Whatever happens, don't let it make you crazy."
— Alec Greven (How to Talk to Girls)

"Horace and Morris and Dolores were friends—the greatest of friends, the truest of friends, the now-and-forever-I'm-yours sort of friends."
— James Howe (Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores)

"Friends you will have need of, for in you two worlds meet. There is no one on both sides with you, so you must learn to take your own counsel; and not to fear what is strange, if you know it also to be true.
—Luthe"
— Robin McKinley (The Blue Sword)

"Sometime on a bright blue day
When everything is very clear
And there are no wrinkles in the sky
It's good to go to a quiet place
And lie down on your back and look at the world
Or put your face deep in the grass
And your arms around the ground
And remember how it was when you were little
And remember you're still the same you
Only you got bigger on the outside is all that happened."
— Bobby Markels (How to be a Human Bean)

"But the inside stuff
Isn't in these poems
About how to be a
REAL HUMAN BEING
Because no one can tell you that
Except you.
Because the you of you
Is inside you someplace
Probably in the middle of your heart.
You can feel it there.
And the you in you
ALWAYS knows when you're being a
REAL HUMAN BEING
You know what I mean.
And don't let anyone tell you different."
— Bobby Markels (How to be a Human Bean)

"Being a failure at living your own life as best as you can is better than being a success living the life somebody else says you should live
—Maureen"
— Julius Lester (Guardian)

"But there are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. I pray for the day when God will end mine."
— Julius Lester (Guardian)

"To give good hugs you have to have some soft places.
—Jeremy Richards"
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"But I want you around even when I don't need you.
—Jeremy Richards"
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"We remember with our emotions. The things that were important in our emotional life, that's what we remember."
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"Books, and especially fiction, do not proceed from ideas. They are born from feelings "
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"Perhaps one of the writer's tasks is to weave himself into others' pain."
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"I'm tired of thinking and I'm really tired of Feeling.

—Jenna Richards"
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"What would they do if I said I hurt so much I feel like I want to die?

—Jeremy Richards"
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"Some wounds go so deep that you don't even feel them until months, maybe years, later.

—Rachel Richards"
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"Just because she's dead it doesn't mean I stopped loving her or that she stopped loving me. It's just her body that left. The love didn't.

—Jenna Richards"
— Julius Lester (When Dad Killed Mom)

"Sometimes I think he’s the kind of friend that grownups call a ‘fair-weather friend.’ That means when everything’s going smoothly, he’s the best friend a guy could want. But as soon as something goes wrong…(he) sort of turns on you.
—Alex Frankovitch"
— Barbara Park (Almost Starring Skinny-Bones)

"When you’re in between dreams, you get to lean back and relax and stop trying so hard. Trying to be somebody, I mean. It’s not as exciting as being a television star, but it’s not that bad, either. You just have to learn to be satisfied with the way you are for a while. Not Forever. Just until you’re finished resting.
—Alex Frankovitch"
— Barbara Park (Almost Starring Skinny-Bones)

"(He) felt lost and alone without his old friend, though he barely recognized him anymore. He wondered if they could ever be friends again."
— Erin Hunter (Fire and Ice)

"The old life is gone, my days are new,
but time is still a mystery
of wishes, and this sad, confusing fragrance. "
—Rosa"
— Margarita Engle (The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom)

"It's a long hard road ahead for you, little warrior. Enjoy a happy day while you can.

—Boldred"
— Brian Jacques (Martin the Warrior)

"Throughout his life the memory of that happy day stayed locked secretly in (his) heart."
— Brian Jacques (Martin the Warrior)

""Even the strongest and bravest must sometimes weep. It shows they have a great heart, one that can feel compassion for others."

—Cornflower"
— Brian Jacques (Redwall)

"But I know now that you can't expect anything from anybody. If somebody loves you, it's because he wants to. And it's never because it's what he's supposed to do."

—Pete Cassidy"
— Cynthia Rylant (A Fine White Dust)

"And, finally, I know, too. That throwing away this mess doesn't mean I'm giving something up. Or losing something I can't get back. It's just that there are too many pieces and too much dust. I'm just ready for something whole."

—Pete Cassidy"
— Cynthia Rylant (A Fine White Dust)

"Maybe this was our last summer as best friends. I feel like something's going to change now and I'm not going to be able to change it back.

—Margaret"
— Jacqueline Woodson (Last Summer with Maizon)

"I wouldn't mind the early autumn
if you came home today
I'd tell you how much I miss you
and know I'd be okay.

It's funny how we never know
exactly how our life will go
It's funny how a dream can fade
with the break of day.

Time can't erase the memory
and time can't bring you home
Last Summer was a part of me
and now a part is gone.

—Margaret"
— Jacqueline Woodson (Last Summer with Maizon)

"And freedom? Oh, freedom.
Well that's just some people talking.
Your prison is walking through this world all alone."
— Jacqueline Woodson (The House You Pass on the Way)

"What did it sound like...having someone call your name across a crowded school yard? How did it feel to turn to the sound of your name, to see some smiling face or waving hand and know it was for you and you alone?"

—Staggerlee"
— Jacqueline Woodson (The House You Pass on the Way)

"I have all this stuff—all these thoughts going on inside me and they all seem so—so dangerous."

—Tyler"
— Jacqueline Woodson (The House You Pass on the Way)

"If I loved someone enough, I would go anywhere in the world with them."

—Staggerlee"
— Jacqueline Woodson (The House You Pass on the Way)