Quotes from Return to Paradise

Simone Elkeles ·  291 pages

Rating: (31.2K votes)


“My brain tells me it will be better to just let him go.
My heart... not so much.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“If you tiptoe into cold water, you're missing out on the rush of plunging in headfirst.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“I gave you my heart, but it wasn't enough.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Doing something positive will help turn your mood around. When you smile, your body relaxes. When you experience human touch and interaction, it eases tension in your body.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“I wish I could turn back time, but I can't. I made a stupid decision because I thought I was invincible, and I'll pay for it the rest of my life.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise



“Love isn't about honesty. It's about protecting the people you love from things that will hurt them.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Why shouldn't I be introspective? We dont' make sense."
"Neither do Chocolate and Peanut Butter, but it somehow works." He says "Somehow the mixture of two things is genius.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“In the end everything will be okay. But hurdles have to be jumped through first.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Our lie is like a cancer that's spread to every single area of our lives.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“It's cool in the basement, so I pull the blanket up to my chest. Caleb slides in beside me, and I feel his bare legs against mine. "You're shivering," he says, his voice a low whisper.
"I'm a little cold... and a little nervous."
"Don't be nervous, Maggie. It's juste me."
It's the real Caleb, without the tough facade. I'm glad it's completely dark now and he can't see my trembling fingers as they move up to his beautiful face. "I know."
He pulls me closer. I rest my head in the crook of his arm and am more content than ever.
"Maggie ?"
"Yeah ?"
"Thanks."
"For what ?"
"For making me feel alive again."
I drape my arm across his chest, the warmth of his skin melting into mine. I want to remember this night forever, because we'll probably never get another chance to hold each other like this again. It makes me want to do more than just sleep in his arms. I try and relax, to slow my own erratic heartbeat as I wrap my right leg, the one that wasn't severely damaged in the accident, around him. It's a definite hint that I'm ready to do more than just lie in his arms.
He moans in response. "Maggie, you're treading into dangerous territory. I'm trying to be a good, honorable guy here."
" I know. But I'm not asking you to be one."
"You sure you know what you're getting into ?"
"Nope. I've got no clue." I start kissing and feeling my way across his broad chest.
"You're killing me", he says, his hands slowly reaching for me and urging me up so we're face to face.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise



“I'm the one who got hit by that car, not you,' I tell him. 'Don't act like you're the victim here. You made choices I didn't ask you to make. I'm not sure anyone asked you to make them.' I'm screaming the words, not caring that the entire world can probably hear me. 'You think I like limping everywhere I go? I don't. I'm the victim! Be honest with me! You didn't care about me enough to trust me. I gave you my heart, but it wasn't enough.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“...personal torture instructor...I mean physical therapist.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Sometimes moving on takes effort. Sometimes moving on is harder than it looks.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Who knew Lenny was an encyclopedia for useless information?”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“I lean back. "What the hell are you doing?"
"What do you mean?" she asks, innocently batting her eyelashes against the hot sun beaming down on us.
Is she kidding me?
"Where's you toungue?" I ask stupidly.
Her wet little eyebrows furrow. "In my mouth. Why, where's it supposed to be?”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise



“I guess we're all a bunch of mismatched couples - that actually fit”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Trust me, he whispers against my lips. Maggie, you're my paradise.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“From the look of us, you'd never know we slept in the same bed last night and made out like the world was going to end if we stopped.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“If you let him go and he doesn't come back to you, he wasn't yours to begin with. It's a lesson learned in first grade”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“I don't play games with people's lives like you do.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise



“Maggie squeezes my hand. It’s a silent message that everything will be okay. Somehow I believe her. In the end everything will be okay. But hurdles have to be jumped through first.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“...there's no rule book or game plan when it comes to the grim realities of our lives.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“- Just do you know, Lenny this isn't a date.
- Then what is it?
- It's me falling sorry for you, because you're such a loser.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Man, my girl is one tough chick when she wants to be. I wonder if it has something to do with those
big, comfy granny panties she’s got on.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Just FYI," Lenny says, his face still red from the nasty sunburn. "I've got a shitload of condoms in my duffle. Front pocket."
"For what?"
"Listen if you don't know what condoms are for I'm not gonna teach you."
"I know what they're for, shithead. I just highly doubt you're getting any ass on this trip."
"Watch me," Lenny says. "My boy gets action all the time."
"Yeah, I bet your right hand is tired from all that action" I mumble as I walk to the bathroom. "I'm a leftie!" Lenny calls after me.
I try not to wince from thinking about it.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise



“Guys are control freaks and hate when other people know what's best for them”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“Love isn't about honesty. It's about protecting the people you love from things that will hurt them. That's love”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


“If you sprinkle when you tinkle please be neat and wipe the seat.”
― Simone Elkeles, quote from Return to Paradise


About the author

Simone Elkeles
Born place: Chicago, IL, The United States
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“The gene,” Dr. Narcejac-Boileau said, “is associated with social dominance and strong control over other people. We have isolated it in sports leaders, CEOs, and heads of state. We believe the gene is found in all dictators throughout history.”
― Michael Crichton, quote from Next


“No neurotic harbors thoughts of suicide which are not murderous impulses against others redirected upon himself.”
― Sigmund Freud, quote from Totem and Taboo


“So the question becomes, Daughter of the Dragon, what will you sacrifice? What will you let be taken away so that you, too, can have power?”
― Kiersten White, quote from And I Darken


“Maybe when their minds go, they’re not themselves anymore. Maybe the Newt we know is gone and he’s not aware of what’s happening to him. So really, he’s not suffering.” Minho almost looked offended by the notion. “Nice try, slinthead, but I don’t believe it. I think he’ll always be there just enough to be screaming on the inside, deranged and suffering every shuck second of it. Tormented like a dude buried alive.”
― James Dashner, quote from The Maze Runner Series


“My dear Prince, might I beg you to move a little more that way, for your nose casts such a shadow that I really cannot see what I have on my plate”
― Andrew Lang, quote from The Blue Fairy Book


Interesting books

The Third Policeman
(13.3K)
The Third Policeman
by Flann O'Brien
Aesop's Fables
(103.3K)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop
The Forever War
(110K)
The Forever War
by Joe Haldeman
North and South
(51.5K)
North and South
by John Jakes
About a Boy
(114.8K)
About a Boy
by Nick Hornby
Freedom
(135.8K)
Freedom
by Jonathan Franzen

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.