Ellen Hopkins, Burned

"Something stirred beneath my skin, some being inside I'd only suspected existed, demon or angel, I couldn't say."

"Librarians were like guardian angels, with graying hair and beady eyes, magnified through reading glasses, and always read to recommend new literary windows to gaze through."

"I thought he'd run if he knew. Instead, he offered help, not that I believed he could possibly help. I thought he'd turn his back, close his heart, slink away. Instead, he promised sanctuary."

"But, though I was very much in lust with him, I knew from the start we were nothing like "forever." Maybe because forever is such a scary place."

"I knew from the start we were nothing like "forever". Maybe because forever is such a scary place."

"Do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?"

"I felt so fine I didn't once overanalyze the perfect emotion, budding inside. The one I'd always feared most."

"Honesty. Sobriety. My virginity. No way to regain the first two, I almost gave away the last."

"I felt angry, frustrated. I felt I didn't belong, not in my,church, not in my home, not in my skin."

"Hurt. Enough to want to make someone else hurt too."

"In my limited realm of experience, beginnings led to endings."

"Me? Beautiful? I'm plain as cardboard. That may be how you see yourself, but the rest of the world would be hard to agree. You shine brighter than the Milky Way. Now there are those who might try to take that from you, but you don't have to give it away. Keep on shining Pattyn. And when the right young man comes along, he'll love you all the more for giftin' this sad planet with your light."

"I had never kissed a boy, had never even considered that I might enjoy such an unclean thing, until literature opened my eyes."

"God wasn't love, couldn't be love. Because for me, love was a corpse."

"in a woman's womb.another chance.to make the world better."

"Did you ever, when you were little, endure your parents’ warnings, then wait for them to leave the room, pry loose protective covers and consider inserting some metal object into an electrical outlet? Did you wonder if for once you might light up the room? When you were big enough to cross the street on your own, did you ever wait for a signal, hear the frenzied approach of a fire truck and feel like stepping out in front of it? Did you wonder just how far that rocket ride might take you? When you were almost grown, did you ever sit in a bubble bath, perspiration pooling, notice a blow dryer plugged in within easy reach, and think about dropping it into the water? Did you wonder if the expected rush might somehow fail you? And now, do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?"

"God is love," she said. "And he respects love, whether it's between a parents, and child, a man and woman, or friends. I don't think he cares about religion one little bit. Live your life right. Love with all your heart. Don't hurt others, and help those in need. That is all you need to know. And don't worry about heaven. If it exists, you'll be welcome."

"Real love finds you once, if you're lucky."