Junko Contes

“كم هو قصيرٌ الحب، وكم هو طويلٌ النسيان”
― بابلو نيرودا, عشرون قصيدة حب وأغنية يائسة

“like Kidnapped, and The Swiss Family Robinson, and the Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, and about twenty others.”
― Andrew Clements, The Losers Club

“On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west. On September 17, 1939, Russia invaded Poland from the east. I remembered these dates. Two warning nations gripped Poland like girls fighting over a doll. One held the leg, the other the arm. They pulled so hard that one day, the head popped off. The Nazis sent our people to ghettos and concentration camps. The Soviets sent our people to gulags and Siberia. I was nine years old when it started. People changed. Faces shrived and sunk, like baked apples. Neighbors spoke in whispers. I watched them play their games. I observed them when they weren’t looking. I learned. But how long could I play this game? A ploy of war both outside and inside. What would happen if I actually made it to the West? Would I be able to reveal myself as Emilia Stożek, a girl from Lwów? Would Germany be safe for me? Once the war ended, which side would be the right side for a Pole?”
― Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

“Will they stand sir?”
“Stand? I’ll have trouble stopping them charging. These men are the 9th Sudanese battalion, all from the South Sudan and the Nuba Hills. Bloody fine soldiers with just a little discipline imposed by their officers. You’ll see and so will the Dervishes.”
― Nigel Seed, No Road to Khartoum