Quotes from One False Note

“I hate France. It's like the whole country's on a diet”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“He watched in awe as she stacked up an enormous armload of music. "There," she finished, slapping Frank Zappa's Greatest Hits on top of the pile. "That should do for a start."
"You are a music lover," said the wide-eyed cashier.
"No, I'm a kleptomaniac." And she dashed out the door.
He was so utterly shocked that it took him a moment to run after her.
With a meaningful nod in the direction of the astounded Cahills, she barreled down the cobblestone street with her load.
"Fermati!" shouted the cashier, scrambling in breathless pursuit.
Nellie let a few CDs drop and watched with satisfaction over her shoulder as the clerk stopped to pick them up. The trick would be to keep the chase going just long enough for Amy and Dan to search Disco Volante.
Yikes, she reflected suddenly, I'm starting to think like a Cahill....
And if she was nuts enough to hang around this family, it was only going to get worse.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“For someone who'e smarter than a supercomputer, sometimes you're a real idiot.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“The au pair was bug-eyed. "What happened back there?"
"It's not our fault!" Dan babbled. "Those guys are crazy! They're like mini-Darth Vaders without the mask!"
"They're Benedictine monks!" Nellie exclaimed. "They're men of peace! Most of them are under vows of silence!"
"Yeah, well, not anymore," Dan told her. "They cursed us out pretty good. I don't know the language, but some things you don't have to translate.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“We didn't stow away!" Dan protested. "You sunk our boat and pulled us out of the canal!"
"Good point," Ian agreed. "Return them to the canal. Roughly, please.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Nellie grinned. "I always wanted to go to Venice. It's supposed to be the romance capital of the world."
"Sweet," put in Dan. "Too bad your date is an Egyptian Mau on a hunger strike."
The au pair sighed. "Better than an eleven-year-old with a big mouth.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“For someone who's smarter than a supercomputer, sometimes you're a real idiot.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Amy turned to Nellie. "Can you create a diversion to draw the clerk outside?"
The au pair was wary. "What kind of diversion?"
"You could pretend to be lost," Dan proposed. "The guy comes out to give you directions, and we slip inside."
"That's the most sexist idea I've ever heard," Nellie said harshly. "I'm female, so I have to be clueless. He's male, so he's got a great sense of direction."
"Maybe you're from out of town," Dan suggested. "Wait–you are from out of town."
Nellie stashed their bags under a bench and set Saladin on the seat with a stern "You're the watchcat. Anybody touches those bags, unleash your inner tiger."
The Egyptian Mau surveyed the street uncertainly. "Mrrp."
Nellie sighed. "Lucky for us there's no one around. Okay, I'm going in there. Be ready."
The clerk said something to her–probably May I help you? She smiled apologetically. "I don't speak Italian."
"Ah–you are American." His accent was heavy, but he seemed eager to please. "I will assist you." He took in her black nail polish and nose ring. "Punk, perhaps, is your enjoyment?"
"More like a punk/reggae fusion," Nellie replied thoughtfully. "With a country feel. And operatic vocals."
The clerk stared in perplexity.
Nellie began to tour the aisles, pulling out CDs left and right. "Ah–Artic Monkeys–that's what I'm talking about. And some Bad Brains–from the eighties. Foo Fighters–I'll need a couple from those guys. And don't forget Linkin Park..."
He watched in awe as she stacked up an enormous armload of music. "There," she finished, slapping Frank Zappa's Greatest Hits on top of the pile. "That should do for a start."
"You are a music lover," said the wide-eyed cashier.
"No, I'm a kleptomaniac." And she dashed out the door.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Nobody got me out," Nellie replied. "They just let me go. They think I'm a deranged Jonah Wizard fan. Apparently, the hotel's full of them. A couple of idiots actually jumped off the front balcony. Can you picture that?"
"In Technicolor," Amy said bitterly.
"That low-down KGB reject!" Dan fumed. "I can't believe she cheated me–right when I was in the middle of cheating her!”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Dan, this is crazy!" Amy quavered. "You can't drive a boat!"
"Say's who? It's no different from Xbox!"
Wham! The port-side rubber bumper at the launch's bow slammed into the end of an ancient cobblestone wharf. The small craft spun like a top, pitching Amy to the deck. Only an iron grip on the wheel saved Dan from a similar spill.
He hung on for dear life. "Okay, scratch Xbox–think bumper cars! I rock at those! Remember the carnival?”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Nellie's brow furrowed. "The great Mr. Hip-Hop Mogul standing in line with the common peasants? How do you figure that?"
Dan grinned. "I'm starting to dig this 'no cars' thing. It's a great equalizer.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Sugar maple!" Mary-Todd Holt knelt over her husband. "Are you all right?"
Eisenhower sat up, and egg-size lump blooming on his crown. "Of course I'm all right!" he managed, his words slurred. "You think a little insect can stop me?"
Reagan was unconvinced. "I don't know, Dad. She brained you with a baseball bat!"
"Hockey stick," Dan corrected.
"Those could be your last words, brat–”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Slime him, sis," Dan urged, "Make him a redcoat.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Follow him!” Amy said urgently. “Why?” “Do it!”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Dark hair, olive skin, handsome features. It always made Amy guilty to find him good-looking. Ian Kabra.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“bladelike motion of the shoulders as she”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“She was salted in the ladies’ room?”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Mozart, the most famous Wiener of all time.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“It had been a seven-year string of bad luck, ever since their parents died in that house fire.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“and a thick mustache calmly gestured for them to get in. Amy”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Dan shrugged. “Maybe when you’re rich, shopping takes longer, since you get to buy more stuff.”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“flames dancing on their dueling swords. One of the squirt painters stepped out beside them. Oh,”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Jonah shook his head, clucking in false sympathy. “Told you guys — no way out.” They”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“them from both sides, it looked like escape. Dan”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“Amy took in the inspired look on her brother’s face. “That’s stealing!” Dan”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“The Janus, the Tomas, the Ekaterina, and the Lucian!”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“It’s cat food — it’s for people like you!” Saladin”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“He felt old at eleven. Amy”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

“You want me to stop and give the Wizards a chance to do it?” he shot back. Dead”
― Gordon Korman, quote from One False Note

About the author

Popular quotes

“Not that folks disliked me or that I ever went around being mean, but folks never did get close to me and it was most likely my fault. There was always something standoffish about me. I liked folks, but I liked the wild animals, the lonely trails, and the mountains better.”
― Louis L'Amour, quote from The Daybreakers

“My friend Madea has "attitude" that comes with wisdom. Back in our teens and twenties, we thought we knew everything and made all those foolish mistakes. Then, when we got a little older, at thirty, we started getting these flashes of light, revelations of what a great and lucky thing it is that we didn't get caught doing those stupid things back then. Around forty, if we are lucky, we stop lying to ourselves. Fifty and above, we've run out of patience for foolishness. Take me to the bottom line.”
― Tyler Perry, quote from Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life

“High-prowed fishing smacks bobbed at their moorings along the riverbank, nets draped over the gunwales to dry. Stork nests, intricately thatched and big as a queen’s bed, crowned utility poles along the road.”
― Rick Atkinson, quote from An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943

“Rimed and sparkling with sugar, the wrestler lay like some child's flaccid sweetmeat in death, and the dogs licked his eyelids.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from Queens' Play

“She ignores me. Clearly there’s no stopping her until she’s read every last word.”
― Gennifer Choldenko, quote from Al Capone Does My Shirts

Interesting books

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.