“Although it teeters on the brink of soppiness at the end, it is precisely the kind of children's novel I wish were written more often.”

“The spaghetti and cheese soaked up a lot of the soppiness of the sauce, but it was still soupier than it should have been.”

“I sometimes wonder whether I would have been the success I became if my mother had been what I wanted her to be, which was full of praise and soppiness.”