Quotes by Avi

A sailor chooses the wind that takes the ship from a safe port. Ah, yes, but once youre abroad, as you have seen, winds have a mind of their own. Be careful, Charlotte, careful of the wind you choose.

In another corner Nathaniel murmured to Maura, You must know, Miss OConnell, I . . . I loved you even before I saw you. It was your fathers way of talking.Maura shook her head. You mustnt say that. Its not my dear das words that should do the wooing, she said gently. Id rather be cared for . . . for what I am myself.Nathaniel nodded. Ill not say more. But I will tell you what I think Im going to do.And what is thatIm going to California to search for gold.And do you think, Nathaniel Brewster, youll find it?I do. But it wont be as fine as whats here, Nathaniel said with a shy smile. Maura OConnell . . . will . . . will you . . . wait for me to come back?Maura was silent.Will you?Youre a fine young man, Mr. Brewster. I can only say Ill not forget you.

I took a deep breath. For you Ive got something better than love.Whats that?I...trust you.Why?Youll never hurt me.Thank you.But...But, what?I said, That means Ill hurt you.Why? Cause, like I said, youll never hurt me back.

The greater a mans - or boys - ignorance of the world, the more certain he is that he sits in the center of that world.

Then the silence came back, that awful silence that seemed to just take over.In that silence I kept hearing what I had said--heard it repeating itself over and over again like a stuck record. I wanted it to stop. I didnt want to say things like that anymore. I was sick of that kind of lying. I wished I could say something real.But the silence was too big.

Its said truth is stranger than fiction, but fiction makes truth a friend, not a stranger.

When dark, its bright, when brightest, its gone. When gone for good, so will I be.What am I?

Magic, her mother said, is a kind of hope. And wishes are like dreams. When we have them, we can make things change. Without, we stay the same.

Would you believe it? Would you believe it. Okay, this is WLRB, all-talk radio. Take a short break, then come right back to talk about whatever you want. Man, but Im telling you: whats happening to this country!

Writing takes a lot of patience. It usually takes me a year to write a book. One time, it took me 14 years to write a book, not that I worked on it every day.

Every night, I was read to. Every Friday, we were taken to the library. I always received at least one book for my birthday. I have a few of them yet. Early on, I had my own collection of books. I loved to read. Still do.