Well, it seems to me that there are books that tell stories, and then there are books that tell truths… The first kind, they show you life like you want it to be. With villains getting what they deserve and the hero seeing what a fool he’s been and marrying the heroine and happy endings and all that… But the second kind, they show you life more like it is… The first kind makes you cheerful and contented, but the second kind shakes you up.
Jennifer Donnelly, A Northern Light