Tracey Baptiste > Quotes

“Because it is the hardness of the floor, and the abrupt halt in momentum, and the unyielding nature of the surface, that causes a thing to crack. Even if it is not that thing's fault. And then we talk about this thing being broken, or it needing to be fixed, and not what part of the floor has played in the matter. Never the part about the floor being a constant threat. Even if it is a nice floor. Even if everybody wants one just like it.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

“My mother tells me all the time that if you don't trouble trouble, then trouble won't trouble you.”
― Tracey Baptiste, The Jumbies

“seed is a promise, Corinne, a guarantee. Plant it and watch it grow.”
― Tracey Baptiste, The Jumbies

“traumatic”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“He came into my room rocking his ‘gamer for life’ pajamas and Minecraft slippers,” I said. “I have a feeling that kid is always in the game.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“You remember sitting, don’t you?” Esme said, mocking. “Shhh!” Anton sniped. “I’m trying to figure this out.” “Yes, sitting is very distracting,” I said. “Getting blown up in this game definitely is distracting,” he said. And when he noticed me rolling my eyes at him, he muttered. “Do you honestly think he’d set traps inside his own home base when the outside is so well guarded?” I asked.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“Corinne La Mer’s heart beat like wild drums as she ran through the forest. Her bare feet stumbled over the dead leaves and protruding roots of the forest floor. She strained her eyes in the dappled sunlight to keep track of the small, furry agouti that scampered away from her. Occasionally, light glinted off the smooth rock tied to the animal’s hind leg. It called to Corinne like a beacon. When she got close enough, she pounced on the ’gouti and missed, grabbing only a handful of dirt. Corinne grunted and threw the dirt aside. The animal ran beneath a bush and Corinne squeezed down to the damp earth to crawl after it. Her skirt got caught on branches, but she ripped it away, determined to reach the animal. On the other side, the creature cowered against a rock and the roots of a large tree. In her eleven years of life, Corinne had learned that with nowhere to run, a wild animal might try to attack. She hung back. “I’m not going to hurt you,” she said in her calmest voice. She eased closer. “I just need that thing on your leg. You’ll be able to run much faster without it, and I won’t be chasing you . . . so . . .” She moved with care toward the ’gouti and gently untied the silk cord. The animal’s coarse fur shivered and its pulse beat as fast as her own. Corinne closed her fist firmly around the stone pendant and crawled back out of the bush. She rubbed the stone with her thumb. Over years of constant handling, she had worn a smooth groove that fit her finger perfectly. The pendant had been her mama’s, and when she put her thumb into the little hollow, she imagined her mama’s hand around her own. Corinne breathed a sigh of relief now that it was back in her possession, but her relief did not last long. She didn’t know this part of the forest. And it was darker here. The branches of the mahogany trees were so thick that barely any light came through. It even smelled different, of wood and wet earth, while Corinne was used to the smell of the sea. She had no idea which way was out. Somewhere between the leaves, Corinne thought she saw a pair of lights shining. They were close together, like eyes. Her skin prickled, but then the lights disappeared and Corinne tried to shake off her fear. The little bit of light must have been reflecting on something. Don’t be silly, she scolded herself.”
― Tracey Baptiste, The Jumbies

“like to find whoever came up with the phrase “everything happens for a reason” and give them a piece of my mind. Because the exact last thing anybody needs to hear when their world is completely screwed”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“It’s not going to kill us to look.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“I suppose I’m the one who’s going to be figuring out where we are and how to get back?” I asked. “That’s right, Dora. You’re the map.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“There were the sounds of zombies”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“But I munched on it anyway, taking the chance of getting food poisoning since it was the only sustenance we had left, as we moved toward the fortress. Luckily I didn’t get sick, and of course, thinking about actual culinary delights immediately gave me the idea of making a restaurant in Minecraft that specialized in Minecrafty dishes that I could construct once we got out of here.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“They were a well-oiled machine.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“Haven’t you ever been spooked by something everyone else thinks is a nonissue?”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“chilled”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“It’s like he’s a puppy that’s finally pooped outside,”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“You could’ve died!”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“vibrant”
― Tracey Baptiste, Rise of the Jumbies

“left behind in the Overworld, along with our friends.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“the things we don’t deal with always come back. There’s no escape”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“or even You’re right, or maybe I’m a giant idiot and I wouldn’t be offended if you abandoned me here. But instead, “You were taking forever”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“In order to create snow golems, make snow blocks by stacking the snowballs into groups of four, and putting a pumpkin on top.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“Even when he didn’t know me, Lonnie was there to catch my falls.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“illusions, pretending that they were actively trying to interact with me, but only on their own terms. “Vision is one of the primary ways we process the world around us,” Mrs. Franklin had said. “But always remember, eyes can be tricked, which in turn can trick your brain.” I stopped near the edge of the river and batted a nearby flower, but nothing happened, so I went on my way. “Everything really is an illusion here.” At the water’s edge, cubes of blue indicated a narrow river, and cubes of brown and green on the other side told me there was land. If I wanted to, I could count up the squares and know exactly how many cubes made up my vision, but why spoil the fun? That would be like going to a magic show and calling out all the ways the magician was making the tricks happen. First of all, it’s rude, and second of all, it ruins everything. Despite it being an optical illusion, I was happy to be where I was, standing by a river, instead of lying down in my own dull reality. From”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“blown sky-high.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“Contents”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“This thing was always my monster, and my monster alone. The only one who could face it was me.”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash

“really—”
― Tracey Baptiste, Minecraft: The Crash