Ann M. Martin Quotes

Cats definitely have their own opinions.

It was the kind of terrified look that reminds you that no matter how rational or grown up a person might seem, some part of him is absolutely sure - knows - that an evil other-world exists just outside of our regular, everyday world. And that although we don't expect that world to collide with our calm, predictable one ... well, really, at any moment that is exactly what might happen.

Oh, easy," said Janine. "It was George Herman. That's it. I won!" "Cheater!" I cried. "You looked! You must have looked!" "I did not," Janine retorted. "I just knew it." "Nerd!" Janine slammed the board shut and walked off in a huff.

Fight your battles with words, not fists

Back then, I would have begged forgiveness from my friends in the BSC. I would have tried like crazy to balance my time between school, the club, Robert and my family.

I would have gone on feeling guilty about my boyfriend at BSC meetings, embarrassed about one set of friends while I was with the other, but I wasn't feeling apologetic now or guilty or ashamed.

You got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and latch on to the affirmative. Don't mess with Mr. In Between.

Mom opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, hesitating. After a few more silent seconds, she said, "Just so you're prepared, dear - " I cringed. Whatever was coming didn't sound good. " - I want you to know that you're going to be scheduled for a series of tests with a new doctor in New York at the beginning of December." I groaned. "He's someone Uncle Eric heard about on a television program." "We're going to a doctor because Uncle Eric saw him on TV?" I exclaimed. "Honey, supposedly he's working miracles with diabetes. After Uncle Eric saw him, I found two articles about him in medical journals, and then Profiles magazine did a long interview with him. It was very impressive. He's getting a lot of attention right now." "Did Dr. Werner say we should go see him?" "No." "Dr. Frank?" "No." "Have you even discussed this with them?" "No.

I think beaches kind of get in your blood, and if you grow up near one you never feel quite right when you're away from it.

I really loved this book. I did for a school book report last year and I really got into it I just couldnt take my eyes of! You really absolutley need to read this book!

Did you do something crazy, like cut it all off?" "Well," I said, "not all." "But it's real short, right?" "Yeah, but - " "Why did you do it?

After all, you can't force a friendship.

Mm-hm," Dawn said. "Um, I'm sorry." "Yeah. Right." I'm sorry, too, Mary Anne was what I was sort of hoping to hear.

Kristy sat up very straight in the director's chair. She adjusted her visor.

"As you know," she said, "today we are going to induct two new members into the club."

Jessi and Mal grinned at each other, but I thought, "Induct?" Who's Kristy kidding?

First she comes up with this fancy word, which just means to introduce them into the club officially.

Adam,' I say, 'had good times and he had bad times.' I pause here and glance at Nana, see that she is crying silently, the way I cried at the duck pond in the park. I was going to say something more about the bad times- how Adam's bad times were different from most people's, and that I'll never really understand them. But now that I see Nana's tears, see her start to reach for Papa's hand, then pull back and fold her hands in her lap again- now that I see Nana, I change my mind.
I think we should remember that Adam was one of those people who could lift the corners of our universe,' I say. I clear my throat. 'Thank you.'
As I slide into our pew I realize I feel older. I think of Janet and Nancy and find that nonw I can brush them away. And I understand that Adam and I are not as alike as I had thought. I remembered the tortured look on Adam's face the night of the Ferris wheel and the look of happiness, happiness, and realize that Adam's decision to take his life was not made easily. It took a certain kind of courage. Just not the kind of courage I chose.
I settle between Mom and Dad, and they take my hands and smmile at me. No tears. I squeeze their hands.
~pgs 177-178; Hattie on life

They were just passing the Evanses' house, Rose making gruesome faces in case they were spying out their windows, when Abby felt someone take her elbow, and she turned to find Zander Burley, his arm now linked with hers. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said, "one day late." He withdrew his arm and loped ahead of Abby and Rose, along the sidewalk and across the lawn to his front door. Abby watched him, thinking that he moved very gracefully for a boy, and noticing that his jaw had grown squarer and his shoulders broader. "Abby has a boyfriend!" Rose chanted when Zander was out of earshot. "No, I don't.

Rain and I have routines. We like routines.

Love is unpredictable. It can be painful. It can be wonderful.

One night last year when my father and I were eating supper at 6.17 p.m., I said to him, "Did you have a favourite?"
"A favourite what?" asked my father.
"A favourite foster mother."
"Yes, I did," said my father. "Her name was Hannah Pederson."
"That is very interesting," I told him, recalling Mrs Leibler's conversational tips, "because 'Hannah' is a kind of word called a palindrome. That means you can spell it the same way whether you start at the beginning or the end. My name is not a palindrome because if you spell it backwards it's E-S-O-R. But it does have a homonym."
My father said, "Don't get started on homonyms, Rose."
So I said, "Did you have any favourite foster brothers or sisters?"
"Yes," said my father after a moment.
"How interesting," I replied. "Did any of their names have homonyms?

For now, I just want things all safe and familiar. My life may not be perfect, but it is what I have known.

Ermaline has entered the room noiselessly and is whispering to Nana. When she leaves, Nana and Papa start talking about friends of Mom's who are in the middle of a scandalous divorce. Mom and Dad keep glancing at Adam, and Nana keeps asking Mom and Dad questions, pulling their attention back to the conversation. I have seen this before. It's Nana's highly effective and very annoying way of not mentioning the elephant in the living room. But why does she have to think of Adam as an elephant? Why can't he just be their son?
~pgs 40-42; Hattie on adults

I looked at Andrew and at Nannie. I loved them and the rest of my family very much. I loved my friends too. For now that was enough love for me.

There's so many different kinds of rights to consider these days: computer, e-book, all sorts of things. Forget foreign rights and entertainment rights. There are so many things to consider and an agent is going to know how to wade through all that much better than you are.

I want her back" I said "I want HIM back"~Charlie

I've discovered that in order to make big changes in the world, we have to begin at home
within ourselves

But she used to disagree with me on everything, just so she could pick a fight.

I love to read, and I don't believe that you have to finish one book before you start another.
Mallory Pike

If you're very serious about writing it's helpful to find an agent. It's becoming more and more competitive to have your manuscript even looked at by an editor. Many companies don't accept unsolicited manuscripts anymore, so they'll pay more attention to something that comes in through an agent.

I am Rose Howard and my first name has a homonym. To be accurate, it has a homophone, which is a word that's pronounced the same as another word, but spelled differently. My homophone name is Rows.

trust you are prepared for it, both financially and phy - " "We're all set," I said, cutting Janine off.

What's fun about homonyms is hearig a word in a sentence and suddenly realizing that it has a homonym or maybe two (or three, but that's so rare I don't often think about homonym quartets) and that you haven't thought of that homonym pair or trio before.

Mom says,'What are you going to do when it's time to go to college?' I choose not to think about that yet. That is years away. For now, I just watn things all safe and familiar. My life may not be perfect, but it is what I have known.
~pg 16; Hattie on change

The long-ago days - the days of Mother and Bone and the shed - have become fuzzy and have blended with images of Moon, of my travels, of other people and houses, of hiding places; a tangle of memories leading to Susan. I burrow into her side and listen to her heartbeat. With my eyes closed, I might be in the straw-filled wheelbarrow again, nestled against Mother, listening to the first heartbeat I knew. I open my eyes and tilt my head back to look at Susan's lined face. She smiles at me, and we sit pressed into each other, two old ladies.

It's awfully hard helping your parents grow up. But it has to be done.

For the first time in my life, I'm being sent home with weekly progress reports that I have to give to my father.

The reports are written by Mrs. Leibler and read and signed by Mrs. Kushel, which is my teachers' way of saying that they're in agreement about my behavior.

The reports list all my notable behaviors for Monday through Friday. Some of the comments are nice such as the ones about when I participate appropriately in a classroom discussion.

But most of the comments make my father slam the reports on the table and say, "Rose, for God's sake. Keep your mouth closed when you think of a homonym" or "Do you see any of the other kids clapping their hands over their ears and screaming when they hear the fire alarm?

A Positive Attitude makes a Powerful Mind.
Mrs. Pike from The Babysitters' Club book Hello, Mallory

If Kristy wanted me to feel left out for some reason, I could do the same to her.

An average person has an IQ of 100. An above-average person has an IQ of 120 to 140. A person with an IQ of 150 is considered a genius. Janine's IQ is 196. Sometimes

Dawn be so rotten?

You just said you had been thinking about it for awhile," Dawn cut in. "Thinking about it," I said. "But you know me - " "I thought I did." Dawn jammed some bean curd in her mouth.

I pick at what's left of the popcorn and think about the summer, the summer that was both awful and wonderful. I thank Adam, as I have thanked him almost every night since August, for showing me that it's possible to lift the corners of our universe. Adam told me about lifting the corners the second time I met him, but I had no idea what he meant. Now I think I do. It's all about changing what's handed to you, about poking around a little, lifting the corners, seeing what's underneath, poking that. Somethings things work out, sometimes they don't, but at least you're exploring. And life is always more interesting that way.

Sure. Waffles are fine. How come you didn't ask me what I wanted?" "I'm asking you now." "They're fine," Janine said again. Sighing, she turned back to the computer. I stuck my tongue out at her and ran downstairs. "Waffles are fine!" I told Mimi.

There's no use asking Mom and Dad to talk to Nana about her punishment. They won't stand up to her. They never do. This is why I decide I am not going to speak to Nana or Papa or my parents. What Leila and I did was wrong. But now I have been put in the middle of something else entirely. Something about Adam and the adults and things that happened before I was born, maybe even before Adam and Uncle Hayden and Mom were born.
~pgs 144-145; Hattie on adulthood

(I love Mary Anne dearly, but she was no help. She still thinks you score touchdowns in baseball.)

Because, you see, you only need one friend for a party. One is enough. Two is enough. Anything is enough.'
~pg 107; Adam on friendship

Bug on the wall.

I believe you are one of the people that can lift the corners of the universe.