Auryn Maxwell

“Did you know that human beings can, in fact, cluck? /i didn't, not until Mr. Henry Wickworth found me dozing off in class the first day of seventh-grade English at the Academy. His face turned a shade of purple not normally found in nature, and me and the rest of the class had to sit through a ten-minute rant about respectful behavious and rudeness, and how he'd be expecting an essay outlining the difference by the end of detention that same afternoon.
Yeah, detention on the first day of school. Detention every day for the entire first week of school, actually. So far, I'd written papers on disrespect, inconsiderateness, and honor. I thought he was actually going to take his ruler and break it over my head when he asked for one defining wiseacre, and I only wrote one sentence: I prefer smart aleck, sir.”
― Alexandra Bracken, The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding

“The only was to trick a trickster was to let them think you weren't capable of it in the first place.”
― Alexandra Bracken, The Last Life of Prince Alastor

“My great-great-great-great-great-whatever came this close to signing the Declaration of Independence but got held up by a sore throat that killed him two days later. A sore throat. Which, sorry, is just about the lamest way a guy could go. I don't think he should get points for almost signing. That's like telling my parents I almost got a perfect score on my math test--a D is only four grades away from an A, right?”
― Alexandra Bracken, The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding

“Disguise a sword?" she asked. "Like cosplay?"
"I'm not saying tie ribbons to it and pretend we're in a parade, but you said it could change shape. Perhaps it could turn into something smaller? Pocket-size maybe? I don't know, like a pen or something.”
― Sarwat Chadda, City of the Plague God