#grad

At times there's something so precise and mathematically chilling about nationalism. Build a dam to take away water AWAY from 40 million people. Build a dam to pretend to BRING water to 40 million people. Who are these gods that govern us? Is there no limit to their powers? ↗

— Arundhati Roy

#capitalism #corporations #dam #economics #environmental-degradation

She had been living like a hermit herself, in a cramped, seedy apartment in Somerville, spending long hours in the lab. All-nighters had become a regular thing. She didn't have any close friends, didn't go out on dates, didn't even go to the movies by herself. She had sacrificed a normal life in order to get a PhD, and become a scientist. ↗

— Michael Crichton

#life #dating

I love to walk through snow, to climb mountains, to smell the fresh air and I love to dream about flying. Soaring through the air, watching the earth from above, feeling the wind in my face and touching the clouds would be an amazing experience. ↗

— Oliver Neubert

#fantasy #first-love #flying #life-skills #middle-grade

Everywhere you look, there is a charity or a project in school to get involved in. In eighth grade, there was this program called CJSF, California Junior Scholarship Foundation. We were involved in soup kitchens and toy drives, and your school can set up something like that. If your school doesn't have a program like that, set one up. ↗

— Lindsey Shaw

#called #charity #drives #eighth #eighth grade

Small Acts of Kindness are Priceless ↗

— M.G. Wells

#family #fantasy #friendship #magic #middle-grade

Tugs was surprised to find that the cake was actually pretty dry and not as good as the cakes her own mother made. It was a revelation. Tugs had assumed that tastier food came out of fancier houses. ↗

— Anne Ylvisaker

#middle-grade #thoughtful #food

But you're like me,” he says. “An outsider. Different. A freak. We're both weird, which is why we get along. ↗

— Darren Shan

#friendship #grubbs-grady #friendship

Robert said, "This is great, huh? Sorry to butt in and everything, but I really need the extra points. For my grade." Ben nodded and tried to smile. Right, for his grade. He probably wanted to get an A++ in social studies instead of just an A+ ↗

— Andrew Clements

#grades #school #funny

The whole thing reminds me of graduate school seminars, except these people are smart and funny and have something interesting to say. ↗

— Sarah Vowell

#funny

A tomb is a vault, a vault is a home,” Mr. Sadlot said casually sniffing the flower in his lapel. “That’s where the deceased chose to reside and that is where he will be placed.” Kekaju and the Hidden Swamp ↗

— Robert W Sweeting

#ghost #middle-grade-fantasy #new-orleans #tomb #vault