Allyson Kennedy > Quotes

“But the more we all stuck together, the more outside layers fell off, revealing that we all have insecurities, fears, and dreams. And that's perfectly normal. That's how God made us.”
― Allyson Kennedy, Speak Your Mind

“He once told me not to cry over him, that he wasn’t worth it. That he wasn’t worth being cared about by anyone else. That he was replaceable. Discardable. Trash.
That’s what the world decided he was, but the world never knew Sawyer Alston quite like I did. Despite my love of a lifetime allotting me only ten months’ time, despite Sawyer taking to heart all the wrong things in life, he only ended up being wrong about one thing.
He was worth it to me.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“My face is like some sort of bashful chameleon, flashing red at any sign of social interaction. Stupid face.”
― Allyson Kennedy, Speak Your Mind

“My point is, sometimes letting go of things we care about can cause greater things to come our way. Think of Job in the Bible. Satan used him as his plaything and took all the man had. But Job, he kept his faith. He loved God, knew true love, and didn't let the worldly things sway him. And God blessed him for it, with twice as much as he had before.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Fall

“I made it my mission to help him see the light, to reveal life has meaning. And in the process, he helped recover the meaning of mine.
My world thrived with him in it. I rediscovered my love for music, as he did his appreciation for love songs. We cultivated joy together, God by our sides, learning to combat small town politics and judgment by sticking together. We were Bama Boy and Grandma Emmie, following in the footsteps of my grandparents, playing parts in one of the greatest love stories Grahamwood has ever known.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“A closet musician losing her music is like a baby losing its favorite blanket; when it's lost, comfort is shattered.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“All I want is my own love story, and all I get are fake chances with guys who don’t understand what love is.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“Being a songwriter is hard to hide—always doing it in plain sight at school, I mean—but I play guitar behind closed doors only. The lyrics, they’re words on paper. To have someone hear me play the guitar, they’d be glimpsing through the boarded-up windows of my soul. And, to be honest, I’m not ready for anyone to snag front row tickets yet.”
― Allyson Kennedy

“Mr. Darcy regains my interest. As if he ever lost it.
“Mmhmm, thanks.” The phone clicks back in its charger. My sister springs up from the floor mummy-style. “That traitor!”
Okay, Darcy, see you later. I close the book. “Who was that?”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“All I want is a love like she and Grandpa had. How is that ever gonna happen if everyone sees me this way?”
“The ones who truly know you don’t, Em.” Ryanne says, making her way back to the door. “The right guy’s gonna memorize you like a favorite song. He’s gonna play it over and over again in his mind until it’s the only song he can sing. Don’t even worry about the ones who can’t match your beat.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“More than anything?” I lay back on my bed, closing my eyes. “I want a love like Grandma Adeline and Grandpa Amos had. I want to build a family from love. I want my future kids to have as strong of a relationship with their siblings as I have with Rider and Auden. I don’t want them to ever have to wonder if their parents love each other, because it’ll be obvious. I want future generations to look up to my future husband and me as much as I’ve looked up to my grandparents.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“Though I’m often complimented on my appearance and told I will someday break many a heart, I prefer a fictional man to the cat-calling scoundrels around town. I, for one, have no time for a boy who is interested in just anyone.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“God, please help me,” I say into the empty restroom, words echoing off the walls. “Please help me live out Proverbs 4:23. Please help me guard my heart. Please help me to never settle for anything less than what You have planned for me.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“I try to shake the thought away. “I don’t know what she’s talking about. He’s not nearly handsome enough to tempt me.” No one catches my Pride and Prejudice reference, of course.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“Sure you don’t. And you didn’t look anything like that Mr. Doolittle in the Pride and Prejudice movie you made me watch.”
I cringe. “It’s Mr. Darcy,” I correct her over my shoulder, escaping the chilly morning air by heading to the locker room. “And this situation is not worthy of comparison to that.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“My memories of Grandma are already fading, and I fear these changes will scrub Grandpa’s lasting impression from the house. Yet, as I hold this box in my hand, the one he specifically set aside for me, I relish that I’ll always have this tangible history to remind me of the greatest force on earth: love.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“Look, I don’t know what all went down that night, but whatever it was, whatever weight you’re carrying, God will carry it for you, Em.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“As far as he knows, nothing has changed between us. I was indifferent before, and if I’m going to brave the storm, I’ve got to muster those feelings back up again. At least until we get out of here tonight and I can find refuge in the pages of my diary.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“That could change. Who cares what they think? Are Linwood County Schools running the rest of our lives? No. But God is, Em. God is. You’ll never know what He has up His sleeve.”
― Allyson Kennedy

“Please don’t cry over me, Emery.” He runs his thumb over my knuckles. “I’m not worth that.”
“Don’t ever say that again.” My voice comes out weak, desperate. “You are. God kept you alive for a reason. That’s your worth.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“What song was that? Maybe if you would’ve sung, I would’ve caught on.”
I force a laugh. One step at a time, buddy. I don’t even sing for my teddy bears. That’s a different matter entirely.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“As I’m sitting down, a spark flashes from the corner of my eye. She lights an unscented candle, the coy smile that Ryanne inherited appearing on her face. 
Scratch that again. I’m going to go make a new life for myself in the woods, away from people forever”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“No one cares until something bad happens. Shoot, most people don’t even care then.
Oh, how much further from the truth could he have been? 
People care, my dear Sawyer. People care. But they often care too late.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“Now that I think about it, haunting isn’t the word. The boy who claimed he hated love songs wrote and sang one so accurate, so accurate that it mirrored everything my brother lectured me about what love should be. He persuaded me to betray my own logic and fall for him. Hard. And yet, falling for him is slipping from a cliff, hurtling to my supposed death, but holding onto a semi-sturdy edge with shaking fingers. Just as soon as I thought we may be headed for a happy ending”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“What makes you happy?”
His throat constricts, barely visible in the parking lot lights. “That ship sailed a long time ago.”
“Ships can always find their way back through the dark. They just need a lighthouse”
― Allyson Kennedy , The Crush

“Allow God to write your love story. Allow Him to protect you from snakes disguised as princes. Wait until He reveals the gentleman you deserve. Never settle for anything less”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“I don’t think that deserved a smack by your three-ton pocketbook.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I don’t know what the code of conduct is back in Bama, but here in good ol’ Linwood County, in our Southern Hospitality Manual, section fifteen subsection seven, it clearly states that rudely ignoring someone warrants a backslap into next week.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“I’ll admit to being a stupid, young girl with a hopeless crush who for some, preposterous reason, won’t give up on the boy she once gagged at the thought of loving. The boy who has a death grip on the shattered remains of her heart, the boy she knows will never give her the chance she craves, as his heart has already been won. The first and only boy she’s ever cried over.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“The boy who hates love songs called me his favorite one, and all I want is for him to play it again.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush

“That rare, broken smile appeared, and something flipped inside of me. The layers of dust entrapping my heart scattered, leaving a clean slate.”
― Allyson Kennedy, The Crush