Never climb a tree in a long dress,” Kate panted, coming up behind me.”I’ll remember that,” I said.

The sky pulsed with stars. Some people say it makes them lonesome when they stare up at the night sky. I can’t imagine why. There’s no shortage of company. By now there’s not a constellation...

I’m glad being shipwrecked appeals to you.””Captain Walken made a point of avoiding that word.” “Well, he was trying to keep everyone jolly, wasn’t he. It’s no good having everyone running around screaming and eating...

You two were in a cave together?’ said Miss Simpkins in horror.‘Yes,’ said Kate, ‘and it was very, very dark.

I prefer the word aviatrix. It has more zing to it.””It’s very zingy,” I agreed.

Nothing’s scarier than having a sick child, and one so newly born, and so vulnerable. It’s the worst thing for a parent.

IMBECILE!” the chef shouted. “Next time why don’t you just put your whole HAND in the food, hey? Yes, your whole hand, or maybe your FACE! I arrange the food on plates with care, are...

You’ve no fear of heights,” puffed the girl.”None,” I said.”I’ve heard that about you.

The baby was warm against my chest. I knew I was broken too. I wasn’t like other people. I was scared and weird and anxious and sad lots of the time, and I didn’t know...

If anyone comes near you, just scream and run.

I raised my hands, trying to shush her.”Don’t shush me,” she said, eyes blazing. “I hate being shushed.

You see, when medicine works, it is blessed science, and when it fails, it is witchcraft. – Polidori

You flatter me shamelessly. I like it. Good.

Everyone watched, wondering if this could be the same lunatic who’d nearly berthed his ornithopter in the restaurant. I swallowed, for it seemed he was headed straight for my table. He pulled off his helmet...

You can’t eat [literature], that’s the problem,” he said. “I’ve tried, it’s very dry, and not at all nutritious.

I had no idea there’d be so many Sherpas aboard!” exclaimed Miss Simpkins.”I’m not a Sherpa,” Nadira said. “I’m a gypsy.””Oh, my goodness!” said the chaperone.

The world should have been in Technicolour, but seemed more like black and white.

This way,” she said, veering toward the roof’s edge. “Can you jump?””Oh, I can jump!””Then jump!

I felt like I was seeing Shannon through a new lens, undistracted by Jennifer’s nuclear glow. I could see how pretty she really was, how kind her eyes were.

I could not help staring back, for they made quite a contrast: Kate’s pale skin and elegant purple suit, Nadira’s dusky skin and exotic fiery sari.”Do we clash?” Nadira said dryly.”We certainly do,” said Kate....

The preface? Why would he waste time with the preface? Skip the preface and move on to the meat of the thing!

Nadira gave Kate a long hard look. “Mr. Slater has the ship. Mr. Cruse has the coordinates. I have the key. What exactly do you have?”For the first time Kate looked flustered.

None of us gets to choose how we’re born, it’s what we make of ourselves afterwards.

I stared at Kate in disbelief. “I know, I know,” she said, walking toward me, hands raised as if to calm a dangerous beast. “She’s not coming,” I said.”She’s coming.””She can’t.””She’s coming.

I took [Kate’s] hand in mine, and felt her fingers squeeze back. And I thought: home. It took me completely by surprise. But I suppose that once you bid farewell to your first home, you’re...