Lily Reads

“Nate came into the room and kicked the door half closed behind him. "Here's the thing. You've gone kind of psycho. I have never willingly gone to a dance in my life. But I am doing this because you are my friend, okay? And something is wrong with you. I don't want to go to this, obviously. And you don't want to go to this. I'm doing this for you, for your own good. This is the one and only time I'm offering to do something like this. Sometimes you have to leave the fucking Shire, Frodo. If we're friends, get up, and come with me now. And you should take that seriously, because you are kind of losing friends all over the place."
He extended his hand to her.
"You're serious."
"I'm serious."
She looked down at her lists and up at Nate.
"You're wearing a tie," she said.
"I know."
"Is that a dance thing?"
"How would I know? Do I look like I go to a lot of dances?"
Stevie felt like she was made of concrete and attached to the floor. But seeing Nate there, seeing the effort he was going to, she felt her moorings come loose.”
― Maureen Johnson, Truly, Devious

“I'm not playing! I really am stupid!”
― Stuart Gibbs, Spy School

“I take a longer look at the words on her headstone.
Brave, kind, loyal, sweet, loving, graceful, strong, thoughtful, funny, genuine, hopeful, playful, insightful, and on and on…
Was she, though? Was she any of those things? The words make me angry. I can’t look at them any longer.
Why do we romanticize the dead? Why can’t we be honest about them?”
― Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died

“And if I see you step foot on my property again, I’ll do more than make a phone call,” he says, waving the baseball bat around menacingly.”
― Sarah Darer Littman, Backlash