Jessie

“It is kinda messed up. Here my brother is, doing everything right, and nothing's coming from it. Meanwhile, Aunt Pooh's doing everything we've been told not to do, and she's giving us food when we need it.

That's how it goes though. The drug dealers in my neighborhood aren't struggling. Everybody else is.”
― Angie Thomas, On the Come Up

“That small act of noticing him when no one else did. That brief act of caring. Just one person seeing another's struggle and bringing them to their feet again. It was the difference between a cold world of being forever apart and a world where one could feel bound to another. Obligated to kindness.”
― Dave Eggers, The Lifters

“I know that at your age you can feel powerless, and that powerlessness can make you angry.”
― Dave Eggers, The Lifters

“And I think you're brilliant, talented, courageous, beautiful. You're my miracle. But you're the only one who can say who you are with authority. So, who are you?”
― Angie Thomas, On the Come Up