xiii

at midnight i am at his front door. the question he asks is why are you so cold? and i say why are you so warm? and he's holding me close and he says i just am and still i can't say it. i follow him into the den quiet steps so his parents won't wake. he holds my hand and when we close the door and lean into the couch all he wants to do is talk but i put my finger to his lips i tell him shhhh. i take off his shirt trace the lines until he pulls me close holds me with such caring looks at me with such caring such open vulnerability i know he wants me to be the one who can break him but doesn't. and when he catches me off guard and says i love you i catch him off guard and say i need your help.
-xiii by david levithan. page 23

Quotes

"For now, I just want things all safe and familiar. My life may not be perfect, but it is what I have known" (16). A Corner of the Universe by Ann M Martin

Cause when I look to the sky something tells me you're here with me.
And you make everything alright.
And when I feel like I'm lost something tells me you're here with me.
And I can always find my way when you are here.
-When I Look To The Sky by Train

I found forever in your arms
And I know just right where I need to be
And I found forever in your arms
And I know just right where I feel free
- I Found Forever by Fighting Instinct

Additional Lit Excerpts

1) "Tinder Heart" by David Levithan [Poem]
2) The Giver by Lois Lowry [Book]
4) A Corner of the Universe by Ann M Martin [Book]
5) "Comfortable" by John Mayer [Song]
6) "Home" by Chris Daughtry [Song]
7) Dear John by Nicholas Sparks [Book]
8) "Be Yourself" by Audioslave [Song]
9) "She's Everything" by Brad Paisley [Song]
10) "That's Where It Is" by Carrie Underwood [Song]
11) Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson [Book]
12) The Gift by Danielle Steel [Book]
13) Bass Awkwards And Belly Up by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain [Book]
14) The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith [Book]
15) "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure [Song]
16) "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch [Song]
17) "Here in Your Arms" by HelloGoodbye [Song]
18) "I Could Not Ask For More" by Edwin McCain [Song]
19) "I Found Forever" by Fighting Instinct [Song]
20) "When I Look To The Sky" by Train [Song]
21) "With You" by Jessica Simpson [Song]
22) "Dark Blue" by Jack's Mannequin [Song]
23) "Hard Days Night" by The Beatles [Song]
24) "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5 [Song]

Existing Critique #2

"My Corner of The Studio" by Monet
Critiqued by: Jude Welton

The heavily patterned wallpaper and carpet indicate that this is not a studio as such, but the room of an artist. The traditional studios that were used by academic painters had dark walls, helping to create deep shadows; the Impressionists preferred light-filled studios painted with pale colors.

Familiar still-life props hang above the table and lean against it- a sword, pistol, and rifle. A pile of well thumbed books adds a serious air, and a tasseled velvet cap has been draped, with studied casualness, over the table edge. More obvious artist's accoutrements are the box of paints and the loaded palette with several brushes.

The rounded surfaces of the turned table legs have been modeled with light and shade. Monet has created dark shadows that move through mid-tones to white highlights. Within a few years, he would begin to use color to describe form.