There was in the mountains, and perhaps in the world at large, a theory of compensation that held for everything given something else was immediately taken away . Well, you've got the smarts, even if your cousin did get the looks. Compliments, seductive as flowers, thorny with their opposites: Yes, you may be smart but you sure are ugly; You may look nice but you didn't get a brain. Compensation; balance in the universe.
- Kim Edwards, Memory Keeper's Daughter