Rosie

“I took a deep breath. 'For you I've got something better than love.'
What's that?'
I...trust you.'
Why?'
You'll never hurt me.'
Thank you.'
But...'
But, what?'
I said, 'That means I'll hurt you.'
Why?'
'Cause, like I said, you'll never hurt me back.”
― Avi, What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything?

“The cure for unhappiness...It's this: What a person needs is always more than they say.”
― Avi

“Are you preparing for another war, Plutarch?" I ask.
"Oh, not now. Now we're in a sweet period where everyone agrees that our recent horrors should never be repeated," he says. "But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction. Although who knows? Maybe this will be it, Katniss.”
― Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

“I do not think you would be so quick to approve if it was your son," he said. The Major frowned as he tried to quell the immediate recognition that the young man was right. He fumbled for a reply that would be true but also helpful. "I do not mean to offend you," added Abdul Wahid.
"Not at all," said the Major. "You are not wrong—at least, in the abstract. I would be unhappy to think of my son becoming entangled in such a way and any people, including myself, may be guilty of a certain smug feeling that it would never happen in our families."
"I thought so," said Abdul Wahid with a grimace.
"Now, don’t you get offended, either," said the Major. "What I’m trying to say is that I think that is how everyone feels in the abstract. But then life hands you something concrete—something concrete like little George—and abstracts have to go out the window.”
― Helen Simonson, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand