ellen > ellen's Quotes

“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“She leaned down and looked at his lifeless face and Leisel kissed her best friend, Rudy Steiner, soft and true on his lips. He tasted dusty and sweet. He tasted like regret in the shadows of trees and in the glow of the anarchist's suit collection. She kissed him long and soft, and when she pulled herself away, she touched his mouth with her fingers...She did not say goodbye. She was incapable, and after a few more minutes at his side, she was able to tear herself from the ground. It amazes me what humans can do, even when streams are flowing down their faces and they stagger on...”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both. (Death)”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“My heart is so tired”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“She was saying goodbye and she didn't even know it.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“A small fact:
You are going to die....does this worry you?”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“I have to say that although it broke my heart, I was, and still am, glad I was there.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.”
― Marcus Zusak, The Book Thief

“One was a book thief. The other stole the sky.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would smile at the beauty of destruction.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“So much good, so much evil. Just add water.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

“Use the fear; feed the anger.”
― Teri Terry, Slated

“One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.”
― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“The best books... are those that tell you what you know already.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“What had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us?”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“I wanted to stay locked away from the pain and destruction. I didn't want to be strong. I didn't want to be the 'smart girl'. I was so very tired. I just wanted it all to be over.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“Per aspera ad astra, Papa,' I whispered. Through hardship to the stars.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“Yet amidst all that, life has spit in the eye of death.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“You love stories, Emilia. Well, the trees hold hundreds of years of stories. Think of it, everything these trees have seen and felt. All of the secrets are inside of them.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“Enough studying, Joana. Sometimes living life is more instructive than studying it.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“What determines how we remember history and which elements are preserved and penetrate the collective consciousness? If historical novels stir your interest, pursue the facts, history, memories, and personal testimonies available. These are the shoulders that historical fiction sits upon. When the survivors are gone we must not let the truth disappear with them. Please, give them a voice.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“I knew the legends of the birds. Seagulls were the souls of dead soldiers. Owls were the souls of women. Doves were the recently departed souls of unmarried girls.

Was there a bird for the souls of people like me?”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“Books join us together as a global reading community, but more important, a global human community striving to learn from the past. What”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“You see, fear is a hunter. It encircles us when we are unarmed and least expect it. And then we are forced to make decisions.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“Terror was out there. And it chased us.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“No Son [. . .] Not a traitor to your country. Much worse. A traitor to your soul.”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea