26
" Harry: " Have you…" he began. " I mean, who … has anyone you known ever died?" " Yes," said Luna simply, " my mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine." " I’m sorry," Harry mumbled. " Yes, it was rather horrible," said Luna conversationally. " I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But I’ve still got Dad. And anyway, it’s not as though I’ll never see Mum again, is it?" " Er – isn’t it?" said Harry uncertainly. She shook her head in disbelief. " Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didn’t you?" " You mean…" " In that room in the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that’s all, you heard them. "
27
" Rose leaned against the bathroom door. Here it was — her real life, the truth of who she was, barreling down on her like a bus with bad brakes. Here was the truth — she wasn’t the kind of person Jim could fall in love with. She wasn’t what she’d made herself out to be — a cheerful, uncomplicated girl, a normal girl with a happy, orderly life, a girl who wore pretty shoes and had nothing more pressing on her mind that whether ER was a rerun this week. The truth was in the exercise tape she didn’t have time to unwrap, let alone exercise to; the truth was her hairy legs and ugly underwear. Most of all, the truth was her sister, her gorgeous, messed-up, fantastically unhappy and astoundingly irresponsible sister. "
― Jennifer Weiner , In Her Shoes