. . . the one thing i always sniffed out instantly was condescension, and as soon as an adult condescended to me I shut them out completely. And actually, I think most literature designed for young people is condescending and when they run into a book that is not, a book that is realistic, that deals with their emotions and their lives in a respectful, honest, often bloody and painful way uh… you know they’re invigorated, they’re excited. I mean they go crazy!

. . . I fully support [the right of parents] to decide what their children read, but they don’t get to decide what other children read, they don’t get to decide what a community reads . . .