I don't write about adolescence. I write about war. For adolescents.

Whenever I write a story, I hope it appeals to both boys and girls.

I don't write for an auditorium full of people. I don't write for the microphone; I write for the page.

When I write, I'm not trying to be funny. It's the way I look at the world.

I write about true-life type things.

One of the reasons it's important for me to write about war is I really think that the concept of war, the specifics of war, the nature of war, the ethical ambiguities of war, are introduced too late to children. I think they can hear them, understand them, know about them, at a much younger age without being scared to death by the stories.