Hollie Palacois

“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

“They’re animals, all right. But why are you so goddam sure that makes us human beings?”
― Richard Bachman, The Long Walk

“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

“Just a glance at the ragged mess around her fingernails communicated more than the lenghiest essays on the nature of distress.”
― Mark Z. Danielewski, One Rainy Day in May