“Jonah has that strange look on his face. He must have another of Maryrose’s memories. Probably that she once sang a lullaby on a windy day. OR SOMETHING ELSE TOTALLY USELESS. “Is it about canoeing?” I ask, trying to be positive. He scratches his head. “It is! Maryrose was good at canoeing!” Oh! Yay! “Did she ever stop a boat?” “Yes!” he exclaims. Great! “How?” I ask. “With paddles!” he says. Argh. “Thanks for nothing, Maryrose’s memories!” I yell. “We have to stop this canoe!”
― Sarah Mlynowski, quote from Once Upon a Frog
“Do you know I ate frog legs once?” Jonah asks. Uh-oh. “You what?” screams a horrified Frederic. “It’s true!” Jonah says, clearly not catching the stop talking look I’m shooting him. “We went to a French restaurant for our dad’s birthday and he ordered an appetizer of frog legs. Remember, Abby? We tried them! Both of us did!” “It was before I knew you,” I tell Frederic apologetically. “They tasted like chicken!” Jonah exclaims. He’s right. They did taste like chicken. “I think I’m going to throw up,” Frederic moans.”
― Sarah Mlynowski, quote from Once Upon a Frog
“Well, there are other versions of the story,” I say, thinking out loud. “Besides the throwing and the kissing.” “Like what?” Frederic asks. I bite my lip. This is going to be worse than the frog-legs conversation. “Well, there’s the one where the princess chops off the frog’s head, and then he turns into a prince,” I say all in a rush. Frederic’s eyes almost pop out of his head. “I do not wish to try that one.”
― Sarah Mlynowski, quote from Once Upon a Frog
“We find our way to the marble kitchen, open the fancy silver fridge, and serve ourselves a heaping plate of coleslaw and chicken fingers. “Mmm,” I say. Prince makes sloppy eating sounds. “Delicious,” says Jonah. He smiles at Frederic. “Tastes just like frog legs.” I laugh so hard I snort coleslaw out of my nose.”
― Sarah Mlynowski, quote from Once Upon a Frog
“I’m still irritated at the end of the day when my brother, Jonah, and I are standing outside school, waiting for our dad to pick us up. It doesn’t help when Brandon says, “Bye, Crabby Abby,” as he strolls past me. He walks home from school by himself. Either his parents trust him to make his way home alone or they think he’s awful, too, and are hoping he gets kidnapped.”
― Sarah Mlynowski, quote from Once Upon a Frog
“Was my sin basically one of untruthfulness? Or, more likely, one of cowardice? But the liar knows the truth. The coward knows his fear and runs away.”
― Josephine Hart, quote from Damage
“The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.”
― Antoine François Prévost, quote from Manon Lescaut
“Enough is as good as a feast.”
― Alice McDermott, quote from Charming Billy
“VISTA es lo que ves con tus ojos. VISIÓN es lo que ves con tu mente.”
― Robert T. Kiyosaki, quote from Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich: How to Get Rich Quickly and Stay Rich Forever!
“La idea de la muerte llega siempre con paso de lobo, con andares de
culebra, como todas las peores imaginaciones. Nunca de repente llegan
las ideas que nos trastornan; lo repentino ahoga unos momentos, pero
nos deja, al marchar, largos años de vida por delante. Los pensamientos
que nos enloquecen con la peor de las locuras, la de la tristeza, siempre
llegan poco a poco y como sin sentir, como sin sentir invade la niebla los
campos, o la tisis los pechos. Avanza, fatal, incansable, pero lenta,
despaciosa, regular como el pulso. Hoy no la notamos; a lo mejor
mañana tampoco, ni pasado mañana, ni en un mes entero. Pero pasa ese
mes y empezamos a sentir amarga la comida, como doloroso el
recordar, ya estamos picados. Al correr de los días y las noches nos
vamos volviendo huraños, solitarios; en nuestra cabeza se cuecen las
ideas, las ideas que han de ocasionar el que nos corten la cabeza donde
se cocieron, quién sabe si para que no siga trabajando tan atrozmente.
Pasamos a lo mejor hasta semanas enteras sin variar; los que nos
rodean se acostumbraron ya a nuestra adustez y ya ni extrañan siquiera
nuestro extraño ser. Pero un día el mal crece, como los árboles, y
engorda, y ya no saludamos a la gente; y vuelven a sentirnos como raros
y como enamorados. Vamos enflaqueciendo, enflaqueciendo, y nuestra
barba hirsuta es cada vez más lacia. Empezamos a sentir el odio que nos
mata; ya no aguantamos el mirar; nos duele la conciencia, pero ¡no
importa!, ¡más vale que duela! Nos escuecen los ojos, que se llenan de
agua venenosa cuando miramos fuerte. El enemigo nota nuestro anhelo,
pero está confiado; el instinto no miente. (...) Cuando huimos como las
corzas, cuando el oído sobresalta nuestros sueños, estamos ya minados
por el mal; ya no hay solución, ya no hay arreglo posible. Empezamos a
caer, vertiginosamente ya, para no volvernos a levantar de vida. Quizás
para levantarnos un poco a última hora, antes de caer de cabeza hasta
el infierno... Mala cosa.”
― Camilo José Cela, quote from The Family of Pascual Duarte
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.
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