Emma

“Man to man, my eye Kipps snorted. It was like seeing two schoolgirls squabbling over a scented pencil. You should have heard the squeals.”
― Jonathon Stroud

“You shouldn’t have done it,” I said. “You shouldn’t have risked yourself.”
“Come off it,” Lockwood said. “You know I’d die for you.” He chuckled. “Heaven knows, I’ve come near it often enough. Scrambling down a crack in the ground is nothing…”
― Jonathan Stroud, The Hollow Boy

“The skull’s…spirit? He…he looks different.”
The youth scowled. “Yeah? You look just the same. I was banking on frostbite taking a few of your fingers, or even your nose. Here’s hoping something else has dropped off that I don’t know about. If not, I’ll be sorely disappointed.”
Lockwood stared. “Does he always talk like this?”
“No. Usually he’s worse. See what I have to put up with?”
― Jonathan Stroud, The Empty Grave

“Well, when you're being held at gunpoint by a geriatric madman in a metal skirt, you've kind of hit rock bottom anyway. It can't really get much worse.”
― Jonathan Stroud, The Screaming Staircase