Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.

FABLEHAVEN: None who enter will leave unchanged. Trespassers will be turned to stone.

Want a reliable road to emotional and spiritual suicide? Spend your life trying to fit in.

It was an emergency!” Seth blurted. “Read my lips – emergency reading – not some demented idea of fun. If I was starving, I would eat asparagus. If somebody held a gun to my head,...

In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.

Fantasy leaves imaginations larger than it finds them.

You have been spying all along,” Conrad said, unconvinced. “The manhunt for you was a ruse.””Check with the emperor,” Ferrin replied coolly…. “That will not take long,” said a man in the corner, studiously picking...

When jumping is the sole option, you jump, and try to make it work.

You look tired,” Rachel told Jason.”I wish I could jog and sleep at the same time.””Can’t you?” Ferrin asked, joining them at the little cascade. “I always imagined that you could sleep rolling down a...

He would have shaved the centaurs, dipped them in honey, covered them with feathers, and hung them up like a bunch of pinatas. I’m just saying.” – Warren

And you came back to Lyrian?” Galloran said in disbelief.”Believe it or not, I came through the same hippopotamus that brought me here the first time. Jumped into the tank on purpose. I wanted to...

We must set aside our wishes and give heed to reality. Nobody can accept the truth while hiding from it. When a decision matters, we have to stare at the truth unflinchingly. Only then can...

Then don’t ask us to share your weakness!” Jason interrupted.

Excruciating agony makes me cranky.

Your attempt was valiant, but the fight was unfair. He was a seasoned warrior, fully armored. You were a lad with a short sword. You have a brave heart. That can be more important than...

Adamant,” Doren said proudly, handing over the shield. “We fished it out of the tar pit where we found the shirt of mail.””Probably all belonged to the same careless adventurer,” Newel speculated. “Too much money,...

Yes, we have different viewpoints represented among us,” she continued. “Yes, we have a displacer in our number, and a half giant, and a seedman who publicly disgraced us.””She’s talking about you,” Drake muttered to...

In some ways, it’s easier to recognize your power when you’re calm and untroubled than when you’re distressed. Search out your talent in quiet moments. Don’t push too hard. You’ve done it once. You can...

For anything worth accomplishing, we can always find reasons to doubt, just as we can also find reasons to proceed…I have chosen to side with faith and hope over doubt and despair.

A crossbow?” Pigeon asked.I left my battle-ax in my other jeans,” the man said.

An unread book does nobody any good. Stories happen in the mind of a reader, not among symbols printed on a page.

How do you kill something that’s already dead?Nobody knows enough about them. Ask Jason. He’ll have an opinion.Wait a moment. Rachel could see Corinne talking to Jason, but they were too far ahead to hear....

Learn to recognize power in others. Become more conscious of your own power. It’s there.

Everything with a beginning has an ending. Any magic that can be done, can be undone. Anything you can make, can be unmade.

I like pancakes.

Wasn’t that awesome?” Seth asked.Warren cocked his head, his expression mildly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Kendra–it was pretty cool.””All boys belong in insane asylums,” Kendra said.

Not a wall in the building lacked books. Books even occupied the space above doorways.

Ew, sicko. I was practicing Edomic.””Sure you were,” Jason said. “You’re just too embarrassed to admit you were playing hide-and-seek all alone. Rachel hiding, nobody seeking.

She shall be my queen, and I her most ardent admirer and protector. A new standard of love shall be established for the ages. Time will clarify my devotion! On this I would gladly stake...

Rolling flat onto his back, Drake shuddered. Then he inhaled deeply. He stared up at the night sky. “We’re going to win,” he said, his voice calmer, less strained. “This is nothing. Keep going. They...

She calls me Honeylips.

The pendulum swings between Light and Darkness

The others were trying to spare you from pain. The truth can be devastating. We spend much of our lives protecting ourselves from it and shielding others as well. We use lies to take the...

Jason glanced at the creature. It remained the same distance away as before, still as a statue.”What do you want?” Jason asked.No answer.”Are you the thing that followed Tark? You should keep following him. He’s...

…even misplaced faith can help us gain knowledge. We try to be smart about where we put our faith and we adjust as we learn more.

Not kill us,” Pigeon corrected. “She was mainly just trying to turn us into mindless slaves.

Are you her boyfriend?”…No, I’m her fiancé.” Nate said.We’ve been promised to each other since birth,” Summer added.Our wedding isn’t until March.

He’s stubborn,” Tux warned in a singsong tone.”Stay out of this,” Mark spat.”And touchy,” Tux added.

Everyone should get to clobber a princess at least once,” Jason said.

If we can expect another journey tomorrow, we should secure horses,” Ferrin went on. “And if the sun will be shining, perhaps a goat for Aram.””Keep it up,” Aram dared him through clenched teeth.”Is a...

None of us start out strong … And none of us have the exact same strengths.

Are you missing the library again?” Seth asked, startling her as he walked into the room.Kendra turned to face her brother. “You caught me,” she congratulated him. “I’m reading.””I bet the librarians back home are...

It was one thing to snuggle a little when the world seemed about to end, and quite another to explain to her parents that she wanted to date an ancient magical horse.

Please,” Kendra said. “Think of all the lives that will be destroyed.””I have,” Mark said. “Believe me, darling, I grasp all aspects of this, I really do. But how much has the public I’m protecting...

Fablehaven’s awesome!!so is the candy shop war!

Jason and Ferrin turned. Aram, face shiny with sweat, pulled a small pair of pants over his skinny legs. His shrunken hands trembled.Ferrin struggled not to smile. He was unsuccessful.Ferrin’s involuntary grin forced Jason to...

My father once admonished me to master the laws that govern fine writing until I could weave my words into worlds. If ever I accomplish that feat, I will sign my name to the tale.

Luck has a way of evaporating when you lean on it.

What’ll you do if you can’t find a way to cure him?” Seth asked.Dale paused. “I’ll never know that day has come, because I’ll never stop trying.

The curse of mortality. You spend the first portion of your life learning, growing stronger, more capable. And then, through no fault of your own, your body begins to fail. You regress. Strong limbs become...