Hollie Palacois

“The memories come in pieces. Little bits of grit too small to pick up even with a wetted finer, too small even to hold in my gaze.”
― Megan Abbott, Give Me Your Hand

“By the time she turned fifteen, all of that was gone. She hardly spoke in class. She refused to function in any sort of school event, and rather than discuss her feelings she deferred the world with a hard and perfectly practiced smile.

Apparently—if her sister is to be believed—Karen spent every night of her fourteenth year composing that smile in front of a blue plastic handled mirror. Tragically her creation proved flawless and though her near aphonia should have alarmed any adept teacher or guidance counselor, it was invariably rewarded with the pyritic prize of high school popularity.”
― Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

“But the truth is, you can rarely undo things. This is what you realize after one of your parents dies.”
― Megan Abbott, Give Me Your Hand

“(When your mom is gone, the thing no one ever tells you is that the little compass needle inside keeps spinning around and around, never finding north.)”
― Megan Abbott, Give Me Your Hand