I'm in love with YA author, Joan Bauer

It was the kind of room that forced you to make the bed and pick up your dirty clothes even though it was against your nature. - Rules of the Road

We are shouldering work, life, and Chicago humidity with the usual grace and sophistication. - Rules of the Road

"You know what I like most about waitressing? When I'm doing it, I'm not thinking that much about myself. I'm thinking about other people. I'm learning again and again what it takes to make a difference in other people's lives."
-- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here

In minutes, I got every kind of sitter at the counter. I love watching people sit down. There are ploppers, slammers, sliders, swivelers, and my personal favorite, flutterers, who poise suspended above the seat and move up and down over it before finally lighting. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here

She tends not to suffer in silence. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here

Saw her walking up the welcome stairways, tossing her long, straight hair that was black like india ink. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here

School.
It came up on me like indigestion. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here

Tree's mother had been the time sheriff. -- Stand Tall p. 18

"You've got to hold on to the things you know to be true, set your mind to a higher place, and fight like a dog to keep it there. War can be so fierce, you can forget the good. Forget what you're about in this world, what's really important. There's always going to be somebody who wants to try to make you forget it. Don't let them." -- Grandpa, Stand Tall p. 71