“As a rule of comedy combining something cute with something sinister is good for a laugh, and the logic is the same as the real-life behavior—the cuter you are, the more you can get away with. I love writing bratty little girls, between the ages of six and sixteen. Only very recently some impulse from the Spiritus Mundi recalled my long-forgotten model: Rugrats, that old Nickelodeon cartoon, and the character of Angelica Pickles who holds her parents hostage by holding her breath (you’re hemorrhaging brain cells, Sweetie, you’ll never make Harvard!). And it’s immensely gratifying to know that all those hours in front of the TV set weren’t wasted.”
—Jacob Ritari, author of Taroko Gorge (Unbridled Books, 2010)