Julie Abe > Quotes

“Books have a way of making themselves known." Kaya added. "When they're meant to be read, they'll appear. When you need them, you'll always be able to find the right book for you,”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“We remember shooting stars for their shine, not the darkness of the night. Trying to wish away grief extinguishes those memories that glow so bright.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“To show that I deserved this. That I'd fought for this with my blood, sweat, and tears, through the most frightening of storms and against even the most skeptical of mayors or meddlers. To show that someone like me could make her own dreams come true.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“The scent of ink and freshly printed paper swirled invitingly in the air as I followed my parents into the bookshop.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“Sometimes all you need is a pinch of magic....”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“The afternoon glow danced on the water as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“You don't need flames all the time to be a flamefox." I smiled and picked him up, holding him close. I would know. After all, I'm a witch who isn't very magical. But I still can cast some magic. And that magic? It's enough for me.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“You don't want to ride? Go that way."
The exit gate, on the far end of the platform, looks like the golden gates of heaven. Or if there's no heaven, then the doorway of a bookstore. I eye it longingly.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“Maybe we’re all boxed up by walls, caught up in untruths that hold us anchored to all the wrong things. But we need other people to show us the light, and help us break through those barriers.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“Because hope was a cruel sorcery of its own; the power of hope was always tainted with the sharp sorrow of unfulfillment.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“Believe in what is real, what only time can reveal. Believe in impossible possibilities to break what should not exist; fight on, and continue to resist.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen and the Cursed Witch

“shrugged.”
― Julie Abe, Tessa Miyata Is No Hero

“Some friends are here for a day, a weekend. And you learn something from those friends, for sure. Some friendships are toxic, and you have to walk away. But there’s some friendships even if you’ve been away from each other for days, a few months—even if it’s been years—when you two meet again, it’s like you two never missed a step. Those are the friendships worth fighting for. Because a friendship that doesn’t have some tough patches isn’t really that real, it’s just a suck-up contest.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“rice cooker looked neat, too—when Cecilia wasn’t drawing up orders for her custom bullet journals, she loved cooking, so she’d probably want to try it. Maybe she could borrow Ojiichan’s phone and call her sisters to meet up— “Tessa-chan, over here!” Ojiichan hollered from the corner. “But, look!” Tessa gestured at the next shop. The sparkling clear displays of the arcade games reeled her in, teeming with a special kind of magic. The machines were stuffed with all sorts of plushies and even themed chocolate and snacks from her favorite animes. Ojiichan smiled. “We’re going to be late. I still have to fill out the paperwork for you two.” “Why do I need to register for an antique store?” Tessa asked. Couldn’t they spend time looking around Tokyo instead of just staying in a musty old shop? Jin’s jaw dropped, his eyes already glued to something. “Wait, we’re going here?” Tessa followed his gaze to the building Ojiichan was standing in front of. Exercise Land? That sounded like the polar opposite of cool. Slowly, she read the big poster board set in front: Starting at noon! Move to the beat, and join us for our most popular senior aerobics”
― Julie Abe, Tessa Miyata Is No Hero

“The bell above the door chimed, and magic tingled at my fingertips. The scent of ink and freshly printed paper swirled invitingly in the air as I followed my parents in the bookstore.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“When I stayed here, Tea-riffic kind of reminded me of being back at your parents’ shop. It’s a nice spot.”
“Tea-riffic?” I echo.
He grins. “It’s pretty tea-sty.”
I groan, but then I let out a laugh. “Well, you had me at tea.”


Tea-riffic Café turns out to be the perfect place to load up on caffeine. I go for a milky hojicha with brown sugar boba, and Jack chooses a winter melon green tea with bits of aloe.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“It's almost like he's trying to protect me.
He hasn't done this since fifth grade, when the most popular, richest, and prettiest girl (seriously, where is the justice in the world?) in the year below us, Minami Vu, made fun of my overalls.
"Those are so last year," she'd sneered, with her perfect button nose pointing up in the air. Her mother is a venture capitalist, and Minami always wears the latest styles before they even started trending on Instagram. I'd been proud of my green corduroy overalls. Hell, I didn't even know overalls had a year. But Jack loudly commented, "I like overalls. They look good on you, Ellie." Then he'd shifted in front of me, facing the girl, and she flushed all red.
The following week, she wore the exact same green corduroy overalls to school. For some reason, he never complimented her on them.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“My to-read list would reach the moon if I stacked it up." -Ellie”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“No one who knows me wants to see me with an axe, least of all me and my currently attached ten fingers.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen and the Cursed Witch

“His eyes light up. “Wait, this is a sakura mochi. How did you remember—"
I glance down and curse internally at the faintly pink, round dessert, pale as a cherry blossom petal. How did I remember his favorite?
His mom used to take us, Cam, and Remy down to San Jose to go around Japantown, picking up bentos from a homey restaurant to eat at the park, and then we’d stop at Shuei-Do Manju Shop. Every time, without fail, Jack would choose sakura mochi. The times that there was only one left in stock, the rest of us purposefully ordered other sweets, just so Jack could get his favorite. And his eyes would shine with delight as he munched on the pink rice cake, the way he’s smiling now.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“I lean against the counter, biting into the delicate macaron. It feels like I'm drinking a lightly sweetened, warm cup of green tea, sprinkled with a tiny contentment spell, one of Mom's specialties.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“I scoop up a generous mouthful, thankful for something cool to take away the sudden heat flushing up me neck. I can’t believe I agreed to this…. My drawings aren’t good enough.
Then the flavor of the ice cream bursts through my mouth. And it isn’t vanilla or chocolate or any ordinary flavor like that.
Honeysuckle.
Our favorite activity during third-grade recess was to hide behind the classroom, lying under the window so Ms. King wouldn’t see us and ask what we were doing. Jack and I would lie out among the clover and honeysuckle, holding hands and just staring up at the impossibly huge sky.
Some days, I’d bring my sketch pad so we could draw the clouds, and we made those little pictures into stories. A cloud-bunny would go on adventures with the cloud-dragon, and they’d find gleaming treasures and hidden magical lands, always together. When we got bored, we’d suck on the stems of the honeysuckle for a drop of sweetness.
Those honeysuckle days are some of the sweetest moments I ever had growing up.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“You’re lucky you don’t have to go through all this paperwork for Lia, but I do. If I didn’t have to do all that, and if your dad didn’t need to take care of the shop, then you wouldn’t even be heading off on this road trip.”
“It’s not like it’s going to be fun anymore,” I protest, and Jack makes a noise from next to me. Maybe he feels insulted or something, but I don’t even care.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“DREAM WILDLY, AND KNOW THAT YOUR PINCH OF MAGIC IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.”
― Julie Abe, Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

“I thought you didn’t want to be a wallflower,” he says.
And that’s it. I explode into a million embarrassed pieces. I bury myself underneath the vineyard to be remembered forever, I—
“I like your list,” he says, breaking me out of my thoughts of complete and utter mortification.
“Don’t—don’t you dare tell anyone about it!”
He frowns as if I’ve said something stupid.
No way. Is it too late? Has he posted an Instagram Story about my list, laughing about the weird things his once-childhood best friend does?
Then he says, “Why would I do that?”
As if it’s simple. As if he hasn’t spent the last five years ignoring my existence. As if he has some sort of loyalty to me, though I know he never did. We were friends once upon a time, like a twisted fairy tale, until it was more convenient to drop me and focus on CharmWorks instead. To be liked and popular, to become somebody who people remember at school, to no longer be invisible.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“No, I already got enough packs of Jagabee to get us across the US, not just through California." These are my and Lia's snacking weakness. Japanese potato chips but in the shape of fries and a million times tastier. I have to wipe my chin to make sure I'm not drooling at the thought of them.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“Gluten-free acai cupcakes, with a new buttercream frosting I’m testing out.”
“Ooh, my favorite! A fresh batch?” I can almost taste the sweet tingle of the fruity acai, tangling with a hint of coconut and that dollop of extra honey that Ana uses in the frosting. Mmm. She knows acai is one of my favorite flavors at her shop. What Ana doesn’t know is that acai is my go-to because she weaves in a hint of bravery when she purees the fruit. And, being a shy nobody, I need all the bravery I can get.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“But we can’t leave without a book,” I protest, looking around. There are non-magical books I’ve had on my to-read list forever. And leaving a bookstore without a book is unthinkable.
“Ellie’s right.” Lia strides over, placing the paperback edition of Dear Martin, one of my favorites, onto the counter. She grins. “We’d never leave without a book.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“He's all dark and light. His perfectly mussed brown hair, lighter than mine because he's half-Japanese, half-Italian. His eyes that have specks of light brown, but shades of darkness, too. The tan of his skin from playing tennis on the school team. His slightly crooked nose from when we were kids and went ice skating at Winter Lodge, chasing each other around the rink, and he tripped over a bump in the ice. Somehow, it works on him.
He's gorgeous.
And I hate him.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List

“I parallel park in front of Shuei-Do Manju Shop, one of the best traditional Japanese sweet shops in the area. They’re known for their manju and mochi, soft and chewy rice cakes stuffed with tasty fillings ranging from peanut butter to traditional red bean. It’s so good that the emperor of Japan ate manju from their shop during a visit to the US.”
― Julie Abe, The Charmed List