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

“Well then,' said Femworth as he came to his feet, 'let's go. Sounds like a delightful challenge before supper. Stimulate the appetite, or kill it. Interesting either way.”
― Donita K. Paul, quote from DragonQuest


“Helmut thought himself above common morality. Or perhaps he thought he’d managed to create his own, different from ours, better.”
― Donna Leon, quote from Death at La Fenice


“In every operation there is an above the line and a below the line. Above the line is what you do by the book. Below the line is how you do the job.”
― John le Carré, quote from A Perfect Spy


“If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;

If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;

And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?”
― The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, quote from The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints


“Now there’s something for you to think about. If you don’t know that you can’t do something, isn’t there a remote possibility that you’ll go ahead and do it anyway in absolute defiance of physical law? That might be one of the drawbacks of education. If you don’t know that you can’t pick yourself up by the scruff of the neck and hold yourself at arm’s length, maybe you can.”
― David Eddings, quote from Polgara the Sorceress


Interesting books

Number the Stars
(358.3K)
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Black Beauty
(204.5K)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
(108.3K)
A Portrait of the Ar...
by James Joyce
Legend
(344.1K)
Legend
by Marie Lu
The Witches
(252.1K)
The Witches
by Roald Dahl
The Hound of the Baskervilles
(193K)
The Hound of the Bas...
by Arthur Conan Doyle

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.