Quotes from A Spy in the House

Y.S. Lee ·  335 pages

Rating: (12.5K votes)


“He laughed, then became serious once more. "Mary............"
The expression in his eyes set her heart pounding. "Yes?"
Twice he began to frame a sentence, and twice his voice seemed to fail him.
And she thought she understood. What could he possibly say to her now, when he was on the verge of leaving forever? Even something as simple as asking her to write to him carried a distinct sort of promis, the type of promise he was ten years and a half a world removed from being able to make.
She forced a polite smile and held out her hand. "Good luck, James."
Regret-and relief-flooded his eyes. he took her hand, cradling it for a long moment. "And to you."
It was foolish to linger. She slid her fingers from his grasp, turned, and began to walk away in the direction of the Academy. She'd gone about thirty paces when she heard his voice.
"Mary!"
She spun about. "What is it?"
"Stay out of wardrobes!"
She laughed, shook her head, and began to walk again. She was smiling this time.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“It's terrifying, to be on the verge of finally getting what you want.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“Calmly, slowly, she reached behind with her left hand and came up against — yes, fabric. Fine linen, to be precise. So far, so good: she was inside a wardrobe, after all. The only problem was that this linen was oddly warm. Body warm. Beneath the tentative pressure of her palm, it seemed to be moving...

With terrifying suddenness, an ungloved hand clamped roughly over her nose and mouth. A long arm pinned her arms against her sides. She was held tightly against a hard, warm surface.

"Hush," whispered a pair of lips pressed to her left ear. "If you scream, we are both lost.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“For several moments, Mary couldn't hear anything over the violent pounding of her pulse.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“She hesitated for a moment longer, then tentatively placed her fingers in his. Her hand was hot and dry and so fragile-seeming that James cradled it gingerly. The next moment, she squeezed so hard his eyes widened.
Fragile lady be damned. He squeezed back spitefully. "Vicious minx.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House



“It's terrifying to be on the verge of finally getting what you want.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“¿Por qué la modestia nunca es uno de los atributos del héroe?”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“-¿No sabes qué decir? -parecía divertirse con la confusión que se reflejaba en su rostro.
-Sospecho que eres tú quien trata de dejarme sin nada que decir.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“-¿Me deseas suerte para mi último día?
-Si utilizas la cabeza, no la necesitarás.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


“-No me lo prometas a mí, Cass. Prométetelo a ti misma.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House



“He stopped in a seedy alley in Holborn where he jumped down from the carriage, held a muttered conference with a dirty, one-eyed old woman, and climbed back in, his arms full of grubby cloth.
She wrinkled her nose. "Phew. What the devil is all that?"
"It's a dress."
"Oh, no. I'm not putting that on. It stinks of last week's washing up."
"It smells of the people.”
― Y.S. Lee, quote from A Spy in the House


About the author

Popular quotes

“Human beings do not readily admit desperation. When they do, the kingdom of heaven draws near.”
― Philip Yancey, quote from The Jesus I Never Knew


“And there it is. The threat I have lived with my entire life. If I am not good enough, kind enough, thoughtful enough, obedient enough, I will be cast from my home like a stunted fish from a fisherman's net.”
― Robin LaFevers, quote from Mortal Heart


“It was all very well being told that she could do nothing to make things better. Neverfell did not have the kind of mind that could take that quietly. She did not have the kind of mind that could be quiet at all.”
― Frances Hardinge, quote from A Face Like Glass


“Love must be learned, and learned again; there is no end to it. —KATHERINE ANNE PORTER”
― Luis Carlos Montalván, quote from Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him


“I am
asking myself what is fear not what I am afraid of.
I lead a certain kind of life; I think in a certain pattern; I have
certain beliefs and dogmas and I don't want those patterns of
existence to be disturbed because I have my roots in them. I don't
want them to be disturbed because the disturbance produces a state
of unknowing and I dislike that. If I am torn away from everything
I know and believe, I want to be reasonably certain of the state of
things to which I am going. So the brain cells have created a
pattern and those brain cells refuse to create another pattern which
may be uncertain. The movement from certainty to uncertainty is
what I call fear.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti, quote from Freedom from the Known


Interesting books

Think and Grow Rich
(128.6K)
Think and Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hill
The Story of a New Name
(56.2K)
Lion of Macedon
(4K)
Lion of Macedon
by David Gemmell
Holiday in Death
(29.1K)
Holiday in Death
by J.D. Robb
One, No One and One Hundred Thousand
(6.3K)
One, No One and One...
by Luigi Pirandello
Rules
(47.4K)
Rules
by Cynthia Lord

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.