I love these kids. I’m just here to bear witness to their lives, because I believe that it is in bearing witness that everything is made real. - Jason Reynolds

People are like, "Well it's not standard English." So what? Standard English is for standard people.

It totally matters to me that teenagers think I'm cool. I mean, teens keep their fingers on the pulse of culture. When things shift, it's usually because they shift them. They call the shots. So if teenagers think I'm cool, then hopefully they'll want to get down with whatever I'm doing. My hope is that reading and writing becomes the new "waiting in line to buy Jordans."

The truths are universal: Every kid knows fear. Every kid knows family and friendship. Loss, love, laughter. Everything else is just detail.