"The wood was at the center, hub of the wheel"

"Like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning"

"The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer"

"Just go out, like the flame of a candle."

“I’m about dry as dust.”

"Tik Tok"

"It was the longest day"

“She held Tuck’s long-forgotten shotgun by the barrel, like a club.”

"Your selfishness is really quite extraordinary"

“A dragonfly, a brilliant blue jewel, darted up and paused over the lily pads, then swung up and away.”

“That feeling – it tied her to them, to her mother, her father, her grandmother, with strong threads too ancient and precious to be broken."