Christopher Golden

"It was a beautiful day to grow up."

"Jenna Blake was still alive because she'd been willing to risk looking stupid."

"Kreske had more authority, but he was a moron."

"A caffeinated Jenna is bad for everyone. -"

"Instead, it had slipped into her subconscious, and worked its way beneath her skin. -"

"And then music. Wind chimes. And the sound of someone playing a violin. A fiddle. Or maybe just the music of a little dragon's wings. Maybe."

"He was still as kind as he had always been, but there was a distance in his eyes now that made her want to cry."

"Strangewood was never silent. It was never supposed to be. There was such life and color in the wood and in the creatures who lived there that silence would be tantamount to death. It was very silent in Strangewood."

"A girl looking for emotion could starve in L.A."

"It seemed like every month that went by, every day older, life became more complicated. The rule for growing up seemed to be that no choice, no decision worth making was without some cost."

"And even the most pleasant of dreams could be painful under the light of the morning sun."