Quotes from Perfect Fifths

Megan McCafferty ·  258 pages

Rating: (8.7K votes)


“The stories teach them valuable life lessons. That good things happen to bad people. That it’s possible to make a bad situation even worse if you don’t think it through. That parents are clueless except when they’re not. That it’s good to try new things even when a new thing is kind of disgusting, because new experiences make you a well-rounded person. That art can be transcendent. That lust is all-powerful, that drugs are fun, and that not everyone who does them is a loser. That losing people is part of life. That where comedy goes, tragedy isn’t far behind. That everyone has issues with their bodies, but some take it too far, almost to death. That fear can be exhilarating. That boys are assholes. That it’s important to look forward and never look back…”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“Gone for a while
Hoping, always, to return
If you will let me”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“Excuse our appearances. We are taking apart yesterday, to make way for tomorrow”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“Don't talk to strangers. Don't do drugs. Don't smoke. Don't drink and drive. Don't have sex. Wear a condom. Wear sunblock. Wear a seat belt. Wear a helmet. If you see something, say something. Just say no. Stop, drop, and roll. Stop, look, and listen. Look both ways before you cross the street...

Safety is an illusion. Bad things can happen to anyone at any time, whether you follow the rules or not. You can check left, check right, check left again before you step off the curb and into the crosswalk, but that won't stop an anonymous asshole in his shitty pickup from putting you in intensive care...”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“It's just Jessica and Marcus, oxymoronically alone together.”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths



“He always loved her because of, not in sprite of, her flaws.”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“Bad things can happen to anyone at any time, whether you follow the rules or not.”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“(Parentheses speak
More than we dare say out loud
Why, oh, why is that?)”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“Marcus Flutie slept with just about every girl on the Eastern Seaboard except me. Though, he tried to get into my panties when I was a freshman but turned him down because I refuse to disempower myself just for a few clit twitches.”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“We just want to be where we're supposed to be. We just want to be with the people we want to be with. I don't think that's asking for too much, ya know what I'm saying?”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths



“Most happy stories are fantasies that never happened. A form of wish fulfillment. (...) Telling happy stories that actually happened lends a sort of fairy-tale quality to real life. They remind the teller and the listener of the magic that can be found in the mundane if you pay close attention.”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“In our artificial civilization many young people at twenty-five are still on the threshold of activity. As one looks back then, over eight or nine years, one sees a panorama of seemingly formidable length. So many crises, so many startling surprises, so many vivid joys and harrowing humiliations and disappointments, that one feels startlingly old; one wonders if one will ever feel so old again. —Youth and Life, Randolph S. Bourne (1886–1918) Even now, when I have come”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


“The tales we tell ourselves about ourselves make us who we are.”
― Megan McCafferty, quote from Perfect Fifths


About the author

Megan McCafferty
Born place: in Bayville, New Jersey, The United States
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Popular quotes

“The Ice Master was too injured and too exhausted to crawl any farther. Let whatever was going to happen to him happen now and may a Sailor's God fuck to Hell this fucking thing that was going to eat him.”
― Dan Simmons, quote from The Terror


“A million candles have burned themselves out. Still I read on. (Montresor)”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Cask of Amontillado


“The secret is not to think, we think in words. And what lies beyond the reality we see is a truth that words can't contain, the secret is to feel.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from The Husband


“A dead body revenges not injuries.”
― William Blake, quote from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell


“Dr. Pym,” Emma huffed, “what happened back there? What’s going on?” “I told you that we are here to see a man. What I did not say was that I have been searching for this individual for nearly a decade. Only recently did I finally track him to this village. You heard me asking the signora how to find his house.” “That’s it? That’s what made her drop the plate?” “Yes, it appears that he is regarded by the locals as something of a devil. Or perhaps the Devil. The signora was a bit flustered.” “Is he dangerous?” Michael asked. Then he added, “Because I’m the oldest now, and I’m responsible for Emma’s safety.” “Oh, please,” Emma groaned. “I wouldn’t say he’s dangerous,” the wizard said. “At least, not very.” They hiked on, following a narrow, twisting trail. They could hear goats bleating in the distance, the bells around their necks clanking dully in the still air. Stalks of dry grass scratched at the children’s ankles. The light was dying, and soon Michael could no longer see the town behind them. The trail ended at a badly maintained rock wall. Affixed to the wall was a piece of wood bearing a message scrawled in black paint. “What’s it say?” Emma asked. The wizard bent forward to translate. “It says, ‘Dear Moron’—oh my, what a beginning—‘you are about to enter private property. Trespassers will be shot, hanged, beaten with clubs, shot again; their eyeballs will be pecked out by crows, their livers roasted’—dear, this is disgusting, and it goes on for quite a while.…” He skipped to the bottom. “ ‘So turn around now, you blithering idiot. Sincerely, the Devil of Castel del Monte.’ ” Dr. Pym straightened up. “Not very inviting, is it? Well, come along.” And he climbed over the wall. Michael”
― John Stephens, quote from The Fire Chronicle


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