Anyway, I do not want you thinking that I or Addie or Joe or Skeezier feel sorry for ourselves. We do not. Other people may call us names or think we're weird or whatever, but that does not mean we believe them. We may be misfits, but we're okay. Leastwise, in our own eyes we are, and that's all that matters.

— James Howe

Banning books is just another form of bullying. It's all about fear and an assumption of power. The key is to address the fear and deny the power.

— James Howe

[Button] If Gay and Lesbian people are given civil rights, soon everyone will want them

— James Howe

Dear Skeezier, Today I ran after a boy as he was trying to get away. I tackled him and we both landed in the mud. Do you think I appeared desperate?-Joe Bunch

— James Howe

I am who I say I am, I'm not some fantasy of how you think you knower who I ought to be. I am a girl who is growing up in my own sweet time, I am a girl who knows enough to know this life is mine. I am this, and I am that and am everything in-between. I'm a dreamer, I'm a dancer, I'm a part-time drama queen. I'm a worrier, I'm a warrior, I'm a loner and a friend, I'm an outspoken defender of justice to the end. I'm the girl in the mirror who likes the girl she sees, I'm the girl in the gypsy shawl with music in her knees. I'm a singer and a scholar, I'm a girl who has been kissed. I'm a solver of equation swearing bangles on my wrist. I am bigger than I ever knew, I am stronger than before, I am every girl I have ever been, and all that are in store. I am who I say I am. I'm not some fantasy. I am the me I am inside. I am who chose to be.

— James Howe

I hated that the soldier doll had my name. I mean, please. Furthermore, I didn't play with him much. He was another Christmas present from my clueless grandparents. One time when they were visiting, my grandpa asked me if G.I. Joe had been in any wars lately. I said, "No, but he and Ken got married last week." Every Christmas since then, my grandparents have sent me a check.

— James Howe

Joe: OO, Brittany "Aren't I Fabulous?" Hobson? Addie: She's not that bad. Joe: Brittany "All the Boys Like Me, I'm so Popular I Could Die" Hobson. Addie: Joe!

— James Howe

Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That's how it was with us. Skeezier Took is and Addie Care and Joe Bunch and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five, but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be part of. A misfit, like us.

— James Howe

Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That's how it was with us. Skeezier, Took is and Addie Care and Joe Bunch and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five, but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be part of. A misfit, like us.

— James Howe

Life is short and there will always be dirty dishes, so let's dance.

— James Howe