Steven Januszewski

“Jenna’s family’s boat. “That’s great!” Bess exclaimed. “It’s very generous,” Marni said. “I haven’t decided if I’m going to use it or not.” “Why wouldn’t you?” George asked incredulously. “I just don’t know if I feel comfortable,” Marni replied. She paused for a second before continuing, “Besides, the GPS is on the fritz. I have to see if I can get that to work before I can make a decision.” “I bet I can fix it!” George offered enthusiastically. “She’s really good with gadgets,” I said. “Don’t you need to help Nancy find the figurehead?” Marni asked George. “Do you mind, Nancy? If you need help, of course I will, but if you two are okay on your own . . .” George gave me a hopeful look. It was a look I couldn’t resist, and honestly, Bess and I could handle talking to Connor by ourselves. “Have fun,” I said. George beamed. Marni smiled, still looking a little uneasy. “Hey, Nancy,” Bess said urgently. “There”
― Carolyn Keene, Sabotage at Willow Woods

“Summer was on the way; Jem and I awaited it with impatience. Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

“George’s utterance of the nest and the trap belonged to a bigger mystery she did not yet understand. One day I will, she promised herself. She would stake her life that those last words from her son would be solved by her. They were steppingstones into… whatever the wind and the stars and the valiant trees held for her.”
― Susan Rowland, Murder on Family Grounds