Jeanne DuPrau > Quotes

“The trouble with anger is, it gets hold of you. And then you aren't the master of yourself anymore. Anger is. And when anger is the boss, you get unintended consequences.”
― Jeanne Duprau, The City of Ember

“When someone has been mean to you, why would you want to be good to them?' 'You wouldn't want to. That's what makes it hard. You do it anyway. Being good is hard. Much harder than being bad.”
― Jeanne DuPrau , The People of Sparks

“There is so much darkness in Ember, Lina. It's not just outside, it's inside us, too. Everyone has some darkness inside. It's like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets.”
― Jeanne Duprau, The City of Ember

“The main thing to do is pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, notice what no one else notices. Then you'll know what no one else knows, and that's always useful.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“What you need to learn, children, is the difference between right and wrong in every area of life. And once you learn the difference, you must always choose the right.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“People find a way through just about anything.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“The trouble with anger is, it gets hold of you. And then you aren't the master of yourself anymore. Anger is.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“A person who thought he knew everything simply didn’t understand how much there was to know.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The Diamond of Darkhold

“Wouldn't it be strange, she thought, to have a blue sky? But she liked the way it looked. It would be beautiful - a blue sky.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“People didn't make life, so they can't destroy it. Even if we were to wipe out every bit of life in the world, we can't touch the place life comes from. Whatever made the plants and animals and people spring up in the first place will always be there, and life will spring up again.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The People of Sparks

“His sympathy made tears spring to Lina's eyes. Doon looked startled for a moment, and then he took a step toward her and wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a squeeze so quick and tight that it made her cough, and then it made her laugh. She realized all at once that Doon--thin, dark-eyed Doon with his troublesome temper and his terrible brown jacket and his good heart--was the person that she knew better than anyone now. He was her best friend.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“Why, if its going to be allright, do we see it getting worse every day?”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“She realized all at once that Doon, thin, dark eyed Doon, with his troublesome temper and his terrible brown jacket, and his good heart---- was the person she knew better than anyone now. He was her best friend.
--City of Ember--”
― Jeanne DuPrau

“Remember the city, the city remember
Where treasure is hidden under the ground
The city, the city, always remember
That's where the treasure will be found.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The People of Sparks

“Maybe there was no happily ever after [...] but there was happiness sometimes and she had it now, doing what she knew she was born for.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The Diamond of Darkhold

“They lifted their faces to the astonishing warmth. The sky arched over them, a pale, clear blue. Lina felt as though a lid that had been on her all her life had been lifted off. Light and air rushed though her, making a song, like the songs of Ember, only it was a song of joy. She looked at Doon and saw that he was smiling and crying at the same time, and she realized that she was, too.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“The main thing is to pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, notice what no one else notices. Then you’ll know what no one else knows, and that’s always useful.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“Lina loved her little sister so much that it was like an ache under her ribs.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“Now Doon seemed to care for his new friends more than he did for her. Every time she thought about him she felt a thud of pain, like a bruised place inside her.”
― Jeanne DuPrau , The People of Sparks

“It wasn't because they had extraordinary powers, really, but because of how well they used the ordinary powers everyone had: the power of courage, the power of kindness, the powers of curiosity and knowledge.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The Diamond of Darkhold

“It would be something that another person had written down without understanding its significance; just a sentence or two that would be like a flash of light.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“A darkness different from Ember's, but just as frightening...”
― Jeanne Duprau, The Diamond of Darkhold

“It’s for my God, the god of dogs, and snakes and dust mites and albino bears and Siamese twins, the god of stars and starships and other dimensions, the god who loves everyone and makes everything marvelous.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The Prophet of Yonwood

“Can't it be stopped?" said Lina. She shifted around under her blanket, trying to find a place to sit where rocks weren't digging into her.
Maybe it can be stopped at the beginning," Maddy said. "If someone sees what's happening and is brave enough to reverse the direction."
Reverse the direction?"
Yes, turn it around."
How would you do that?"
You'd do something good," said Maddy. "Or at least you'd keep yourself from doing something bad."
But how could you?" said Lina. "When people have been mean to you, why would you want to be good to them?"
You wouldn't want to," said Maddy. "That's what makes it hard. you do it anyway. Being good is hard. Much harder than being bad.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The People of Sparks

“Unintended consequences, he thought miserably.
He was angry at his anger, the way it surged up
and took over.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“The main thing is to pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, notice
what no one else notices. Then you'll know what no one else knows, and
that's always useful.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“He says I'm beautiful as a red tomato”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The City of Ember

“Doon was touched. Kenny looked like a tiny little wisp, but there was something strong inside him. --People of Sparks--”
― Jeanne DuPrau

“The idea seemed to be that if you prayed extremely hard--especially if a lot of people prayed at once--maybe God would change things. The trouble was, what if your enemy was praying, too? Which prayer would God listen to?”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The Prophet of Yonwood

“You know, son, I don't think there's such a thing as an easy life. There's always going to be hard work and there will always be misfortunes we can't control, lurking out at the edges - storms, sickness, wolves. But there is such a thing as a good life and I think that we have one here.”
― Jeanne DuPrau, The Diamond of Darkhold