Quotes from Ashes

“Why can't you like me?" he said, his voice breaking. His scent steamed then, hot and heady with a welter of contradictions: apples and fire and electric roil of those cold, black shadows. "Why can't you like me just a little?"

She would never know how she might have answered, because he never gave her the chance.

Instead, he kissed her.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“It was that stages-of-anger thing. I was shocked and then I got pissed and then I fought like hell … and then I went numb. They called it acceptance, but it wasn’t. It’s what happens when you have only two choices: live with the monster, or kill yourself.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“But sticking to rules just because they're there does not make them right. You need to learn when the rules should be broken.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Obeying orders just to obey is the mark of a person who has ceased to think. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Sometimes you don't know what you need until it's gone”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Run, she told herself. Run, you idiot, run.

But she didn't. She couldn't. She just... couldn't.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Those brain-zapped kids weren’t the only - or maybe even the worst - enemy.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“My English teacher said that a writer is the worst judge of his own work.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“As the dog sprinted back, Jack said to the girl, "Sweetheart,honey, why do you have to be so hateful?"
"Why not?" Ellie said. "It's not like being good ever got me anywhere.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“As a doc, though, I've seen what happens when people are under a lot of stress. Doesn't always bring out their best. When people are scared, they get angry. They'll do things they never thought they would. They'll bargain and compromise in order to survive; they'll chase after miracle cures and believe just about anything so long as it gives them hope. When hope fails, then watch out. Some people get brutal. They'll turn on each other; they'll become their own worst enemies.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Raccoon." She saw Ellie put a hand to her mouth to cover the giggles and then looked back at Tom. "Like, you caught it?"
"Well, it sure didn't get Fed-Exed [...]”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Sometimes when you're sad, it's easier to be angry.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Obeying orders just to obey is the mark of a person who has ceased to think.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“You want to brawl. You want to fight. Fighting tricks you into believing you can change the past, even when the past is dead and gone and all of it ashes.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“A chronic headache muttered in her temples, but like Barrett said, no one ever died from pain. True, but some days you didn't much enjoy living either.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“How come adults got away with saying things that would sound rude coming out of her mouth?”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“Fighting tricks you into believing you can change the past, even when the past is dead and gone and all of it ashes.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“As long as you're alive, there is hope...Hope is saying that I will live one more day, and that is a blessing, too.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

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Popular quotes

“My guard will run you through if he catches you looking at my face," said Arianna.
"I don't think so. I think it might be treason to kill a duke," said Luciano.
"But you're not a duke," said Arianna.
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"Would?"
"If you are asking me."
"I'm asking."
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"I do. With all my heart.”
― Mary Hoffman, quote from City of Flowers

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“I will persist until I succeed. I was not delivered into this world into defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny. I will persist until I succeed.”
― Og Mandino, quote from The Greatest Salesman in the World

“Debbie often talked about Gretchen as if she was his mistress. But to Archie it sometimes felt like the other way around. As if, by moving back in with his ex-wife, he was cheating on Gretchen.
That was probably worthy of bringing up in therapy”
― Chelsea Cain, quote from Sweetheart

“Let bygones be bygones because everybody knew that forgiveness was divine.”
― Lesley Kagen, quote from Whistling In the Dark

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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.