The truth doesn’t get you very far on the streets, or in a group home, or even in high school. That’s probably why the idea of Liars, Inc. appealed to me. Everybody lies. You might as well get paid for it.
Maybe I could dole out the truth in tiny pieces that, once assembled, would make a picture that resembled a reality in which I hadn’t done anything wrong.
I laugh as an unfamiliar feeling envelops me. I think it might be happiness.
I go back for seconds and thirds and fourths and fifths, when it’s good. Just not if it means some guy gets to put a leash on me.
To me, Mother Nature isn’t nearly as scary as human nature.
You have more power than you think. Be careful what you do with it.
The world is full of holes and uneven seams, wrinkled places that you can’t make smooth, no matter how hard you try.
Some people think they can just decree that everything will be fine. The world doesn’t work like that. I’m not sure the world gives a crap about anyone’s promises, well-meaning or otherwise. Sometimes the Universe just takes what it wants.
Whoever said it was better to have loved and lost was completely full of shit.
Time doesn’t heal anything. It’s like drinking. The best it can do is help you forget, if you’re lucky.
Sobs force their way out of my throat. I feel like I’m trapped in a disaster movie where everything is shriveling into darkness and ash. Sunflowers are being uprooted. Puppies are being trampled. Whole cities are crumbling to dust.
How do you make me smile when it seems like there’s nothing in the whole world to smile about?
Sometimes being poor means having to choose between your principles and your survival.
It’s not right that some people have so much and others have so little.
When you care about someone, you can’t just turn that off because you learn they betrayed you.
When you share feelings with someone, or secrets, it adds a layer of complexity to even the simplest things.
I don’t think you can just choose to believe in God. You either do or you don’t, and no matter what camp you’re in, it would take something life-changing to truly lead you into the other one.
Some people just want to be part of the story, even if it’s a story that’s completely fabricated.
Nothing stings quite like an unanswered text message.
My name is Winter Kim. Today I killed a man. Soon I hope to kill another.
Who would vandalize a doghouse? I ask.”Cats?” Bee suggests.
Guilt is basically one of my superpowers. It’s been programmed into me from the moment I was old enough to know what it was.
No,” Gideon says. “No guns. The most dangerous weapon you have is your brain. Give someone a gun and they tend to quit using it.
I am not warm. That is why my sister chose the name Winter for me.
Jesse and I might as well be caught in a snow globe. Tonight is just a single perfect moment trapped in glass. Tomorrow our protective bubble will be shattered.
Standing up for yourself is about more than flinging barbed-wire insults around. Its about picking your battles, knowing when to fight, knowing exactly what and who is worth fighting for.
But if you want him, you might have to fight for him.” I let my head fall to the tabletop. “For the love of all that is dead and Chinese, please, no more fighting. This army needs a break.
The truth never hurts worse than finding out someone you care about lied to you.
Our “protective bubbles”—our houses, our cars, our friends, our online identities—might make us feel secure, but most of it’s just an illusion. It’s easy to get hurt, just like it’s easy to hurt other people.
You know what I regret the most?” Trinity says, her voice just above a whisper. I don’t answer. All I can think about is how crappy it is that my fourteen-year-old sister already has regrets.