“Did you ever, when you were little, endure your parents’ warnings, then wait for them to leave the room, pry loose protective covers and consider inserting some metal object into an electrical outlet?
Did you wonder if for once you might light up the room?
When you were big enough to cross the street on your own, did you ever wait for a signal, hear the frenzied approach of a fire truck and feel like stepping out in front of it?
Did you wonder just how far that rocket ride might take you?
When you were almost grown, did you ever sit in a bubble bath, perspiration pooling, notice a blow dryer plugged in within easy reach, and think about dropping it into the water?
Did you wonder if the expected rush might somehow fail you?
And now, do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“God is love," she said. "And he respects love, whether it's between a parents, and child, a man and woman, or friends. I don't think he cares about religion one little bit. Live your life right. Love with all your heart. Don't hurt others, and help those in need. That is all you need to know. And don't worry about heaven. If it exists, you'll be welcome.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“in a woman's womb.
another chance.
to make the world better.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Real love finds you once, if you're lucky.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Love is only found in books”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Some people never find love at all, count yourself blessed if it ever happens your way”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Would I ever find forever love? Do I really want to, when forever was a word without meaning?”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“But, though I was very much in lust with him, I knew from the start we were nothing like "forever." Maybe because forever is such a scary place.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“You'll only find happy endings in books. Some books.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Me? Beautiful? I'm plain as cardboard.
That may be how you see yourself, but the rest of the world would be hard to agree. You shine brighter than the Milky Way.
Now there are those who might try to take that from you, but you don't have to give it away. Keep on shining Pattyn.
And when the right young man comes along, he'll love you all the more for giftin' this sad planet with your light.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“In my limited realm of experience, beginnings led to endings.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“I felt angry,
frustrated.
I felt I didn't belong, not in my
church, not in my home, not
in my skin.
Amidst the chaos, i felt
alone,
in need of a friend instead of
a sister, someone detached from
my world.
The "woman's role" theory
disgusted me.
I would soon be a woman, and I
knew I could never perform as
expected.
I was tired of my mom's submission
to her religion, to her husband's
sick quest for an heir,
to his abuse.
I was sick of my dad, of
reaching for
him as he fell farther away
from us and into the arms of
Johnnie WB.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Something stirred beneath my skin, some being inside I'd only suspected existed, demon or angel, I couldn't say.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Dad staggered in, eyes eerily lit.
The corners of his mouth foaming spit.
His demons planned an overnight stay.
Mom motioned to take the girls away.
hide them in their rooms, safe in their beds.
We closed the doors, covered our heads,
as if the blankets could mute the sounds of his blows
or we could silence her screams behind out pillows.
I hugged the littlest ones close to my chest,
till the beat of my heart lulled them to rest.
Only then did I let myself cry.
Only then did I let myself wonder why
Mom didn't fight back, didn't defend,
didn't confess to family or friend.
Had Dad's demons claimed her soul?
Or was this, as well, a woman's role?”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“The love of her life dissolved into dreams.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“God wasn't love, couldn't be love. Because for me, love was a corpse.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“You shine like the Milky Way. Now, there are those who might try to take that from you, but you don't have to give it away. Keep on shining.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Later, Bishop Crandall dropped by
The house to give me a stern
reprimand. He sat across
the cluttered table,
playing with a paper clip.
'Your parents are worries about you, Pattyn.'
I was worried about myself.
But I wasn't about to let him
know it. "Really?"
'Really. What have you got to say for yourself? You've always been such a good girl.'
Good girl. Sit. Stay. Fetch.
Bristles rose up along my
spine. "Define good."
'I don't appreciate your attitude,
Pattyn. Fast and pray. Search your
soul for the inequities in your life.'
"Any inequity in my life
began when I was born
female. Can you fix that?"
'You'll have to fix that yourself,
by concentrating on the things
God expects of you.'
His two-faced rhetoric
was pissing me off. "You
mean like kissing your ass?"
He slammed his hand on the table.
'I will not listen to that sort
of language. Apologize!'
Behind me, I hear Mom
gasp. But I was on a roll.
"I'm sorry, Bishop
I'm sorry I ever believed
you might have something
worthwhile to say.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“But more importantly, you are a gift, to all who know you, whether or not they realize it. If they don't, they are blind. You have a special place in this world. All you hvae to do is find it.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Communication
Was never big in my house.
We sat together over
dinner, but the only sound
you'd hear was crunching
and chewing and the little
ones asking for more, please.
We lived, all boxed up in
invisible containers. We
hardly knew the people
we called sister or father.
Jackie and I were the
exceptions to that rule.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“I was about six years old, still Daddy's little girl, even though Daddy couldn't care less about me.
How could I expect any man every would?”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Do not give up on yourself, on the truths you have realized. Do not give in to those who would crush your dreams like nutshells. And never turn away from forever love.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Defiance rose up like vomit.
I swung back and yelled,
"Don't ever do that again!”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“You think God would let a girl do something special?”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“I felt angry,
frustrated.
I felt I didn't belong, not in my,
church, not in my home, not
in my skin.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“One Time, One Day
between Davie and Roberta ,
I asked my mom why she persisted,
kept on having baby after baby,
She looked
at me, at a spot between my eyes,
blinking like I had suddenly fallen
crazy. She paused before answering
as if
to confide would legitimize my fears.
She drew a deep breath, leaned against
the chair. I touched her hand and I thought
she might
cry. Instead she put baby Davie in my arms
Pattyn, she said, it's a woman's role.
I decided if it was my role, I'd rather
disappear.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“If you've never shot a gun,
You can’t understand
how it feels in your hands.
Cool to the touch, all its venom
coiled inside, deadly,
like a steel-scaled serpent. Awaiting your bidding.
You select it’s prey… paper,
tin, or flesh. You lie in wait,
learn that patience is the killer’s
most trustworthy accomplice.
You choose the moment. What. Where. When. Decided.
But the how is everything.
You lift your weapon,
ease it into place, cock it,
to load it, knowing the
satisfying snitch means a bullet is yours to command.
Now, make or break,
it’s all up to you. You
aim knowing a hair either
way means bull’s-eye or miss.
Success or failure. Life or death.
You have to relax,
convince your muscles
not to be tense, not to betray
you. Sight again. Adjust.
Don’t become distracted by the heat of the hunt.
Instincts take over.
You shoot and adrenaline
screams as your target shreds
or the flesh drops. And for
one indescribable moment you are God.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“I had never kissed a boy, had never even considered that I might enjoy such an unclean thing, until literature opened my eyes.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
“Concentrate. Level the sight. Breathe in.
Ease the trigger. And relax?
BLAP! The can somersaulted across the sand.
Pride swelled till I thought I'd burst.
But my pride slipped at Dad's reality check.
Not bad. Pretty good, in fact. For a girl.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
Ellen Hopkins
Born place: in Long Beach, CA. , The United States
Born date March 26, 1955
See more on GoodReads
“Where both deliberate, the love is slight: Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?”
― Laurell K. Hamilton, quote from The Harlequin
“You’ve ruined it now,” she said, looking sadly at the crumpled spotted wings in Bethan’s outstretched hand. “It deserved to live, and to fly.”
― Lois Lowry, quote from Son
“And did anyone here bring me food? I'm famished."
[Gregor's] fingers found a stray fortune cookie from the night before and he pulled it out. "Here," he said.
Ripred reacted with exaggerated amazement. "Oh, heavens, is this whole thing for me?"
"Look, I didn't even know --" Gregor began.
"No, please. Don't apologize." Ripred's tongue darted out and flicked the cookie into his mouth. "Oh, yes, oh, my word," he raved as he chewed and swallowed. "I'm absolutely stuffed!”
― Suzanne Collins, quote from Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
“A wife! No one else could love a man who had been trampled on by iron feet. She would wash his feet after he had been spat on; she would comb his tangled hair; she would look into his embittered eyes. The more lacerated his soul, the more revolting and contemptible he became to the world, the more she would love him. She would run after a truck; she would wait in queues on Kuznetsky Most, or even by the camp boundary fence, desperate to hand over a few sweets or an onion; she would bake shortbread for him on an oil stove; she would give years of her life just to be able to see him for half an hour...
Not every woman you sleep with can be called a wife.”
― Vasily Grossman, quote from Life and Fate
“(although anyone with half a brain must surely be mired in existential gloom all the time)”
― Kate Atkinson, quote from Case Histories
Play With Me
The Fire Starter Ses...
A Prisoner Within
Branded
The Gravedigger's Da...
Let's Explore Diabet...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.
