“[Ava] had always thought the main relationship in the family was the one between Nancy and her daughters. To have a family, you needed a father, of course, and Jimmy had played that role perfectly well, if you were okay with an old-fashioned interpretation of the job. But the Nickerson family was all about the women and their noisy, bickering,… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share
No one's family is normal. Normalcy is a lie invented by advertising agencies to make the rest of us feel inferior. — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
“They’re pretty quiet in there.” I nod toward the family room. “They’re both champion watchers,” David says. “It’s their superpower.” “Too bad… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
“WE LEAVE THE DORM, and Ethan shows us the gym, where he proudly informs us that in one month he’s already doubled the weight he can curl, then the community room, which has an enormous flat-screen TV and a bunch of pinball and video games, then the computer room, and then his little corner patch of their big community garden,… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share
Isabella: "Why are you being so mean to me?" Harry: "Because i love you" Isabella: "Does that ever work?" Harry: "On my mother it… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
“David tears a chocolate chip cookie in half. “Want some?” He holds a piece out to me. The chocolate glistens, and the brown-buttery inside looks like it will be chewy, which is how I like my cookies. I can’t think of a single reason to refuse. So I reach for it. “Thanks.” We chew together for a companionable moment. “That… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share
“I go with him to retrieve his backpack. The hallway’s deserted, so he and I steal a kiss against the row of lockers. Then I push him away. “I thought you were morally opposed to PDAs.” “Yeah, they’re gross,” he says, and leans in again. I hold him off with the palms of my hands against his chest. “I’d hate… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share
I want a tutor,” Layla said. “It would make doing homework so much easier.” “Me too,” said Kaitlyn. “If Layla gets one, I get one.” “No daughter of mine will ever have a tutor,” Dad said. “What if we’re failing a course?” asked Layla. His graying eyebrows drew together. “If you fail a single course, young lady, we will pull… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share
I cursed myself not only for forgetting to turn my phone off but for ever thinking that having a rock music ringtone was cool. — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
“He smiled down into her eyes and she looked right at him and she knew him. When hadn’t she known him? With a little… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
He only invited me because of you and Chase.' 'Right,' she said, following me inside. 'He's never shown the slightest interest in you before. I mean, he's never stared at you like you're the only person in the room when we're all together. Or sulked around for days because you turned him down for a dance. Or touched the sleeve… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share
He can’t ground her if he’s already killed her,” I pointed out when Juliana quoted this to me. “Well, he can, but it wouldn’t… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
Basically, the world is a giant shithole. But some of us are capable of imagining something better. — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
“David has one of those bland faces that would get him off for murder because not a single eyewitness would be able to describe him. They’d all be saying stuff like, “Oh, you know . . . hair that’s kind of brown . . . not that straight, but not curly either . . . His nose? Just kind of… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share
“It's like people have a place in their brain for normal, and they have a place in their brain for something obviously wrong, but… — Claire LaZebnik Copy Share Image
