“Nobody hopped into a wardrobe to find Narnia; they hopped in, thinking it was just a wardrobe. They didn't climb up the Faraway Tree, knowing it was a Faraway Tree; they thought it was just a really big tree. Harry Potter thought he was a normal boy; Mary Poppins was supposed to be a regular nanny. It's the first and only rule. Magic comes when you're not looking for it.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“I didn't need to transform after all.
My name is Harriet Manners and I am a geek.
And maybe that's not so bad after all.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Nobody really metamorphoses. Cinderella is always Cinderella, just in a nicer dress. The Ugly Duckling was always a swan, just a smaller version. And I bet the tadpole and the caterpillar still feel the same, even when they're jumping and flying, swimming and floating.
Just like I am now.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“My name," I tell Wilbur in the most dignified voice I can find, "Was inspired by Harriet Quimby, the first female American pilot and the first woman ever to cross the Channel in an aeroplane. My mother chose it to represent freedom and bravery and independence, and she gave it to me just before she died."
There's a short pause while Wilbur looks appropriately moved. Then Dad says, "Who told you that?"
"Annabel did."
"Well, it's not true at all. You were named after Harriet the tortoise, the second longest living tortoise in the world."
There's a silence while I stare at Dad and Annabel puts her head in her hands so abruptly that the pen starts to leak into her collar. "Richard," she moans quietly.
"A tortoise?" I repeat in dismay. "I'm named after a tortoise? What the hell is a tortoise supposed to represent?"
"Longevity?”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“You need to stop caring what people who don't matter think of you. Be who you are and let everybody else be who they are. Differences are a good thing.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Oh." Dad frowns. "Why hasn't Annabel been teaching you how to walk in heels? I thought we had an agreement: I teach you how to be cool and she trains you how to be a girl."
I stare at him in silence. This explains so much.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Your daughter is adorable. I've never seen such an alien duck in my entire life.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“She's....having an affair with a strawberry jam manufacturer?”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Tortoises are incredible creatures," Dad says earnestly. "What they lack in elegance and beauty they more than make up for in the ability to curl up and defend themselves from predators."
"What, like me?”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Have you been sniffing glitter again?”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“...Our stories are drive by who we are and what we do, and not by the events that happens to us.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“We don't have time for all this adorable Darcy and Lizzie tension, Kitten-cheeks.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“I came to get you. I knew you'd freak out."
"But..." My head still feels like a helium balloon. "Why?"
Nick looks blank. "Because you always freak out."
I shake my head. My voice feels like I've swallowed it. "I mean, why do you care if I freak out?"
There's a long silence.
"Well," Wilbur finally bursts, "I can take a shot in the dark, if you want."
"Seriously," Nick snaps, making his fingers into a gun shape. "I'm going to take a shot in the dark in a minute and it will make contact."
Wilbur looks charmed. "Isn't he adorable?" he says fondly. "My duty as Fairy Godmother is complete, anyhoo, and I believe it's time to spread my magic dust elsewhere. So many pumpkins after all; so little time.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Nick? Any idea?"
Nick coughs too. "Nope. No idea at all."
Wilbur gives him a stern look. "So what was the point in doing all the Jane Austen stuff if she doesn't know about it, Poodle-bottom?”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Gary nips my finger and starts clawing his way up my shoulder, hissing like an angry kettle. It's just not natural for something so cute and fluffy to be so nasty.
I look at Nick in distress. "Why is he spitting at me?"
"Maybe he thinks he's a llama.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Well?" Nat says after a few seconds. "I'm surprised you're here again, Harriet. I thought you'd be busy auditioning for A Midsummer Night's Dream."
I blink a few times in surprise. "No. I'm not."
"You should be. I heard they're looking for an ass."
Oh. Now why can't I think of quips like that when I need them?”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“She's probably so mesmerized by her own beauty she can't move away from the mirror," I hear Wilbur stage-whisper. "It's why I'm always late." Then he knocks on the door as well. "Look away from the reflection, baby," he shouts through the wood. "Just look away and the spell will be broken.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“The rest of my Thursday can be summarised thus:
- Nat tells me to bite her.
- I don't.
- I am forced to sit next to Toby for the entire two-and-a-half-hour return coach journey.
- He tells me that water is not blue because it reflects the sky, but actually because the molecular structure of the water itself reflects the colour blue and therefore our art teacher is wrong and the authorities should be alerted.
- I pull my jumper over my head.
- I stay under my jumper for the next two hours.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“My impact on hearts is like an earthquake happening on the other side of the world: if I'm lucky, I can hope for a teacup tinkling in its saucer. And even then it's a bit of a surprise and everybody talks about it afterward.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Mr Bott sits down and gestures gracefully to the board. "As you are clearly both fascinated by this text, would you like to explain the significance of Laertes in Hamlet?" He looks at Alexa. "Please go first, Miss Roberts."
"Well..." Alexa says hesitantly. "He's Ophelia's brother, right?"
"I didn't ask for his family tree, Alexa. I want to know his literary significance as a fictional character."
Alexa looks uncomfortable. "Well then, his literary significance is in being Ophelia's brother, isn't it? So she has someone to hang out with."
"How very kind of Shakespeare to give fictional Ophelia a fictional playmate so that she doesn't get fictionally bored. Your analytical skills astound me, Alexa. Perhaps I should send you to Set Seven with Mrs White and you can spend the rest of the lesson studying Thomas the Tank Engine. I believe he has lots of buddies too.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Why are you such terrible parents?" I yell.
"I don't know," Dad yells back. "Why are you such a naughty little spider?”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“This might surprise you, but here's a fact: people who plan things thoroughly aren't particularly connected with reality. It seems like they are, but they're not: they're focusing on making things bite-size, instead of having to look at the whole picture. It's procrastination in its purest form because it convinces everyone—including the person who's doing it—that they are very sensible and in touch with reality when they're not. They're obsessed with cutting it up into little pieces so they can pretend it's not there at all.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“If I tell you, you'll panic."
"I won't."
"You will. You'll panic, and then I'll panic, and then you'll panic again, and she'll be able to tell we're weak and she'll eat both of us.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“what are you doing here?" "Obviously I'm doing laundry, Harriet." I raise my eyebrow. He looks completely at ease with this terrible excuse, which - considering the fact that he has no laundry with him - is a little worrying.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“Czar Nicholas the Second was overthrown by Lenin in 1917."
I blink in surprise. "Yes," I say, "he was."
"And do you think I want to know that? IT's not even on your exam syllabus. I never had to know that. So now it's your turn to pick up a few pairs of shoes and make ooh and aah sounds for me becuase Jo ate prawns and she's allergic and she got sick and couldn't come and I'm not sitting on a bus on my own for five hours, OK?"
Nat takes a deep breath and I look at my hands in shame. I am a selfish, selfish person. I am also a very sparkly person; my hands are covered in gold glitter.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“a) not thinking about Nick and b)”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“I can only conclude that her feelings toward me are very similar to what I've read about love: passionate, random, inexplicable, and totally uncontrollable. She can't help hating me any more than Heathcliff could help loving Cathy. It's simply written in the stars. Which would be quite sweet if she wasn't such a cow all the time.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
“People like their high-fashion models to look as deeply unhappy as physically possible You can't have beauty and contentment: it would just be unfair.”
― Holly Smale, quote from Geek Girl
Holly Smale
Born date December 7, 1981
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“He shrank from hearing Margaret's very name mentioned; he, while he blamed her – while he was jealous of her – while he renounced her – he loved her sorely, in spite of himself.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell, quote from North and South
“Aside from the obvious, Francesca, what do you want in return for supplying information?” Bones asked, getting back to the subject. “You to take me,” she replied at once. “Not gonna happen!” I spat, squeezing him possessively. Three sets of widened eyes fixed on me. That’s when I realized that what I had a firm grip on was no longer his hand.”
― Jeaniene Frost, quote from Halfway to the Grave
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Hamlet
“I want to ask him if it’s possible that a girl can be born unlovable, or does she just become that way?”
― Libba Bray, quote from A Great and Terrible Beauty
“The Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid; given proper motivation almost anyone will believe almost anything.”
― Terry Goodkind, quote from Wizard's First Rule
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