Quotes from Alanna: The First Adventure

Tamora Pierce ·  274 pages

Rating: (97.1K votes)


“Alan, you seem to think we won't like you unless you do things just like everyone else. Have you ever thought we might like you because you're different?”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Alanna: All I know is that I'm to jump when I'm told and I have no free time.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“I truly love our Code of Chivalry. We are taught that noblemen must take everything and say nothing. Noblemen must stand alone. Well, we're men, and men aren't born to stand alone.
-Myles of Olau”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“I wish you would thrash him. He deserves it."
She looked back at him. "I will one day, sir. I'm getting tired of falling down.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“I believe in deeds, not words.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure



“I'm sorry," she said humbly. "I haven't wanted to lie to you."
"I should hope so. You're the worst liar I've ever met." He thought about it for a moment, then added, "--or the best. Now I'm all confused.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“If I say you're a goatherd's son, you say, 'Yes, Lord Ralon.'"
Alanna gasped with fury. "I'd as soon kiss a pig! Is that what you've been doing-kissing pigs? Or being kissed?”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“I said I fell down.
Ah. The ground bloodied your nose, split yer lip, and punched ye in th' eye, all at once.
I said I don't want to talk about it.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Why does this mean so much to you, Jon?"
The Prince turned. "Because he's my friend. Because I always know where he stands, and where I stand with him. Because I think he'd die for me and--and I think I'd die for him. Is that enough?”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Ah," Gary said dreamily. " 'Free time.' I've heard about that. Don't fool yourself, Fire-Top. What with extra hours of lessons for punishments, and the extra work you get every day, free time is an illusion. It's what you get when you die and the gods reward you for a life spent working from dawn until midnight. We all face up to it sooner or later--the only real free time you get here is what my honored sire chooses to give you, when he thinks you have earned it."
"And he doesn't give it to you at night," Alex put in. "He gives it to you when you've been here awhile, on Market Day and sometimes a morning or afternoon all to yourself. But never at night. At night you study. During the day you study. In your sleep--”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure



“George looked at her for a long moment. Finally he replied, "And why do you find it so hard to think someone might like you and want to do things for you?”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“A bully fights people littler and weaker than he is because he thinks it's fun.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“I--buy, and I sell."
"You're a thief.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Moral issues rarely have yes or no answers.
-Myles to Alanna when she asks about the Gift”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Stefan spat. "Oh, aye, he fell. O' course, Master Ralon helped him fall, several times. Poor li'l tyke didn't have a chance.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure



“It's always better to attack than to defend," Coram had told her when they talked about fencing late at night. "Always. Ye don't win with defense--ye only hold the other feller off, or wear him down. Attack and have done with it!”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Girl, boy or dancing bear, you're the finest page-the finest squire-to-be-at court." (Jon to Alanna)”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Well, laddie, if you've let an old buzzard like me hurt you confidence, you couldn't have had much in the first place.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Alanna didn't approve of lying, but in a pinch a lie was sometimes better than the truth.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“He's got courage," Alex said.
"Courage!" Raoul bellowed. "That coward almost kills him and--”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure



“Stefan shook his head. Th' lad's got guts , he thought. Not much sense, but guts.
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Ralon didn't make anyone else put his tack away?" Alex wanted to know. "You didn't see anything strange?"
Alanna didn't look up. "No." It wasn't strange , she excused her lie mentally. Ralon does things like that all the time.
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“Your place in life you can always change, whether you have the gift or not. But you cannot change what the gods have made you. The sooner you accept that, the happier you'll be.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“All these things Alanna knew from her father's books and maps, but the reality took her breath away as a paragraph written in a book never could.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“The only thing I know is that I jump when I'm told to and I have no free time.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure



“Our gods are much too busy in our lives for us to ignore them. (Myles)”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“We're men, and men aren't born to stand alone.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


“A knight must develop all his abilities, to the fullest.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Alanna: The First Adventure


About the author

Tamora Pierce
Born place: in South Connellsville, Pennsylvania, The United States
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Insomnia.” She nods wisely. “You should take melatonin. It works wonders.”
― Kristen Proby, quote from Forever with Me


“Some days passed before I could rid my thoughts of Thecla of certain impressions belonging to the false Thecla who had initiated me into the anacreontic diversions and fruitions of men and women. Possibly this had an effect opposite to that Master Gurloes intended, but I do not think so. I believe I was never less inclined to love the unfortunate woman than when I carried in my memory the recent impressions of having enjoyed her freely; it was as I saw it more and more clearly for the untruth it was that I felt myself drawn to redress the fact, and drawn through her (though I was hardly conscious of it at the time) to the world of ancient knowledge an privilege she represented. The books I has carried to her became my university, she my oracle.”
― Gene Wolfe, quote from Shadow and Claw


“The unbeaten brat will remain unlearned,”
― R.K. Narayan, quote from The Guide


“All those rhythms, all those songs, all those wonderful glorious magnificent voices inside her began to sing.”
― Damian Wampler, quote from Sevara: Dawn of Hope


“After this interlude we return to the question of the parcel. Yes, says the Postmaster, it has been here – actually here in the office! But it is here no longer. It has been removed to the custody of the Customs. Monsieur B. must realize that parcels are subject to Customs dues. B. says that it is personal wearing apparel. The Postmaster says: ‘No doubt, no doubt; but that is the affair of the Customs.’ ‘We must, then, go to the Customs office?’ ‘That will be the proper procedure,’ agrees the Postmaster. ‘Not that it will be any use going today. Today is Wednesday, and on Wednesdays the Customs are closed.’ ‘Tomorrow, then?’ ‘Yes, tomorrow the Customs will be open.’ ‘Sorry,’ says B. to Max. ‘I suppose it means I shall have to come in again tomorrow to get my parcel.’ The Postmaster says that certainly Monsieur B. will have to come in tomorrow, but that even tomorrow he will not be able to get his parcel. ‘Why not?’ demands B. ‘Because, after the formalities of the Customs have been settled, the parcel must then go through the Post Office.’ ‘You mean, I shall have to come on here?’ ‘Precisely. And that will not be possible tomorrow, for tomorrow the Post Office will be closed,’ says the Postmaster triumphantly. We go into the subject in detail, but officialdom triumphs at every turn. On no day of the week, apparently, are both the Customs and the Post Office open!”
― quote from Come, Tell Me How You Live


Interesting books

Doctors
(12.2K)
Doctors
by Erich Segal
Gazing Into the Eternal
(68)
Gazing Into the Eter...
by Belzebuub
The Lacuna
(51.7K)
The Lacuna
by Barbara Kingsolver
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
(156.2K)
The Boys in the Boat...
by Daniel James Brown
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
(38.3K)
The Narrow Road to t...
by Richard Flanagan
The Magician's Assistant
(28K)
The Magician's Assis...
by Ann Patchett

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.