You're a real firecracker, Astrid, aren't you?" Firecracker is what people in certain social circles say when what they really mean is asshole.

Things were about to change. If nothing changed, I wouldn't be writing this down because this is a book about the time when everything changed. And isn't that what every book is about? No, seriously, isn't it? I don't read books.

The world turned and flung me.

I had never owned a pair of jeans, and I didn't plan on it. I'm not a cowboy, a farmer, or a 1950s greaser.

Survival isn't a race. It's a dance.

I'm not most people. I have no patience for those who can't execute a plan with elegance.

You know power is the best thing in the world because as soon as you have it, everyone is trying to take it from you.No one is ever trying to take your friends away, so that's how you know they're less important.