“Life is short and there will always be dirty dishes, so let's dance.”

“Life is short and there will always be dirty dishes, so let's dance.”

“Banning books is just another form of bullying. It's all about fear and an assumption of power. The key is to address the fear and deny the power.”

“They're really into it, laughing and teasing each other, and I am looking at Pam and thinking once again how she is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen and that if we were back in the olden times she might have been made into a goddess because she is so beautiful. Sometimes I cannot stop my mind. It's scary.”

“Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That's how it was with us. Skeezie Tookis and Addie Carle and Joe Bunch and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five, but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be part of. A misfit,like us.”

“Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That's how it was with us. Skeezie, Tookis and Addie Carle and Joe Bunch and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five, but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be part of. A misfit,like us.”

“Anyway, I do not want you thinking that I or Addie or Joe or Skeezie feel sorry for ourselves. We do not. Other people may call us names or think we're weird or whatever, but that does not mean we believe them. We may be misfits, but we're okay. Leastwise, in our own eyes we are, and that's all that matters.”

“Fangs are more pointed, and vampires use fangs to bite people on the neck.''Yech! Who'd want to do that?''Vampires would, that's who.''Wait a minute. I saw Mrs. Monroe bite Mr. Monroe on the neck once. Does that mean she's a vampire?''Boy, are you dumb. She's not a vampire. She's a lawyer.”

“The creditor hath a better memory than the debtor.”

“One hair of a woman can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen.”

“God comes at last when we think he is farthest off.”