Anne Ursu

She understood. They were plastic flowers of words—but they looked nice on the surface.

— Anne Ursu

“The witch raised one careful eyebrow. “I? I want nothing,” she told Hazel. “Don’t you see? I want nothing.”

— Anne Ursu

In woods where the woodsmen told lies, maybe it was the wolves who told the truth.

— Anne Ursu

“The boys wouldn’t come to save him. Only Hazel would. And maybe that’s why the boys would win.”

— Anne Ursu

“His words sounded foolish to his own ears. He was not impressive. He was small like the world.”

— Anne Ursu

Her father said she was a princess. He did not see that she was a brave knight.

— Anne Ursu

“She didn’t know the answer. But there had to be a way. There was always a way.”

— Anne Ursu

“It’s a plié. You do it on all the positions. It’s very good for dramatic moments.”

— Anne Ursu

“The house felt strange. Altered. Like someone had come in during the day and shrunk all the furniture just a tiny bit.”

— Anne Ursu

“...she wore weird baggy clothes and seemed like the sort of person who might tesser in some dark and stormy night.”

— Anne Ursu

“That was the point where she was supposed to sound tough, like she was someone to be reckoned with, like she was…

— Anne Ursu

The halls were empty. Charlotte had missed the first bell and would be late, again. Her homeroom teacher would ask her for…

— Anne Ursu

He squeezed Steve's shoulder possessively. "Oh, Zero. He is not you, I must admit. He does not have your bravery, your nobility,…

— Anne Ursu

“Hazel shrugged. She heard Bobby’s voice in her head and wondered why it was she who was not allowed to hurt anyone.”

— Anne Ursu

Kids can handle a lot more than you think they can. It's when they get to be grown up that you have…

— Anne Ursu

“She just eyed them coolly, as if they were nothing to her, as if their nothingness surprised and slightly repelled her.”

— Anne Ursu

“She saw signs of another village in the distance—she smelled smoke and saw the faint glow of something like civilization. But there…

— Anne Ursu

“Hazel understood. Being grown up meant doing what grown-ups wanted you to do. it meant sacrificing your imagination for rules. It meant…

— Anne Ursu

“They were princesses once, charged with saving the kingdom from a dragon, and whoever could defeat it would be queen. Daisy used…

— Anne Ursu

“Teachers loved to say people had potential; that's what teachers did to keep themselves from getting canned. What were they supposed to…

— Anne Ursu

“Now, Hazel was not stupid. She knew that just because you see a piece of cake and a sign that says EAT…

— Anne Ursu

A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned cold. Only two people noticed. One was a witch, and…

— Anne Ursu

“She did not like seeing her loved ones like this, bent over with sorrow; everything in her wanted to cry out, to…

— Anne Ursu

If shadows were caused by the interplay between light and Life, a child's was still forming. An adult's was inextricably bound to…

— Anne Ursu

“Hazel knew her mother really meant I hope there is something you were dying to do at school today, that you are…

— Anne Ursu

“Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jack who got lost in the woods. His best friend went after him.…

— Anne Ursu

“Hazel wanted to ask him what he was thinking, what he was feeling, if he was regretting the witch or was just…

— Anne Ursu

“But I can tell you this,” he continued. “The white witch doesn’t feel things the way we do, do you understand? She’s…

— Anne Ursu

“Jack was the only person she knew with an imagination, at least a real one. The only tea parties he’d have were…

— Anne Ursu

Jack believed in something—he believed in white witches and sleighs pulled by wolves, and in the world the trees obscured. He believed…

— Anne Ursu

Hazel had read enough books to know that a line like this one is the line down which your life breaks in…

— Anne Ursu

This morning, as Charlotte approached the brick facade of Hartnett, she found herself overcome with a great sense of dread. It hit…

— Anne Ursu

“I’ve seen middle grade books criticized by adult readers for leaving things for the reader to figure out, for not having perfect…

— Anne Ursu

“ This is nothing. And you are nothing. She took another step, and stumbled. The ground was plummeting downward now. You are…

— Anne Ursu

“She had believed that because someone needed saving they were savable.”

— Anne Ursu

“It would not hurt, after all, to walk into the woods.”

— Anne Ursu

“We’re starting with the villain,” Martin interjected. “Because they are the most fun.”

— Anne Ursu

“What are you supposed to do when something like that happens? Do you hold on or let go?”

— Anne Ursu

This is what it is to live in the world. You have to give yourself over to the cold, at least a…

— Anne Ursu

“No one took her seriously because she was small and feathered, a strange little dino-bird, but she had a sickle claw and…

— Anne Ursu