“Together in our house, in the firelight, we are the world made small.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Life’s all about the revolution, isn’t it? The one inside, I mean. You can’t change history. You can’t change the world. All you can ever change is yourself.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“I don't like hope very much. In fact, I hate it. It's the crystal meth of emotions. It hooks you fast and kills you hard. It's bad news. The worst. It's sharp sticks and cherry bombs. When hope shows up, it's only a matter of time until someone gets hurt.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“For mad I may be, but I will never be convenient.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“It goes on, this world, stupid and brutal.
But I do not.
I do not.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“There is only one thing I fear now-love. For I have seen it and I have felt it and I know that it is love, not death, that undoes us.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“I will rain down silver and gold for you. I will shatter the black night, break it open, and pour out a million stars. Turn away from the darkness, the madness, the pain. Open your eyes and know that I am here. That I remember and hope. Open your eyes and look at the light.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Stop yelling. If everyone’s yelling, no one can be heard.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“I will go out again this very night with my rockets and fuses. I will blow them straight out of their comfortable beds. Blow the rooftops off their houses. Blow the black, wretched night to bits. I will not stop. For mad I may be, but I will never be convenient.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Hope is the crystal meth of emotions. It hooks you fast and kills you hard.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“History is a Rorschach test, people. What you see when you look at it tells you as much about yourself as it does about the past.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“I have done this—made the sad prince laugh. Made his grieving parents smile. None but me. Think you only kings have power? Stand on a stage and hold the hearts of men in your hands. Make them laugh with a gesture, cry with a word. Make them love you. And you will know what power is.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“I play until my fingers are blue and stiff from the cold, and then I keep on playing. Until I'm lost in the music. Until I am the music--notes and chords, the melody and harmony. It hurts, but it's okay because when I'm the music, I'm not me. Not sad. Not afraid. Not desperate. Not guilty.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Most of the mess that is called history comes about because kings and presidents cannot be satisfied with a nice chicken and a good loaf of bread.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Turn away. From the darkness, the madness, the pain. Open your eyes and look at the light.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Cry your grief to God. Howl to the heavens. Tear your shirt. Your hair. Your flesh. Gouge out your eyes. Carve out your heart. And what will you get from Him? Only silence. Indifference. But merely stand looking at the playbills, sighing because your name is not on them, and the devil himself appears at your elbow full of sympathy and suggestions. And that's why I did it....Because God loves us, but the devil takes an interest.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“She's got a big belt around her hips. It has a shiny buckle with PRADA on it, which is Italian for insecure.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“If I had coal and fire
And metal fine and true
I’d make an iron band
An iron band for you
I’d pick up all the pieces
From where they fell that day
Fit them back together
And take the pain away
But I don’t have the iron
And I don’t have the steel
To wrap around your broken heart
And teach it how to heal
Somewhere in the fire
Somewhere in the pain
I’d find the magic that I need
To make you whole again
I’d make the iron band so strong
I’d make it gleam so bright
I’d fix the things I’ve broken
I’d turn my wrongs to right
But I don’t have the steel
To wrap around your broken heart
Wish I could make it heal
Wish I could make it heal
(Ch. 27)”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Who knew that listening to a guy sleep could be so much deeper than sleeping with a guy.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Becuse God loves us, but the devil takes an interest.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Beautiful people don't need coats. They've got their auras to keep them warm.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Little by little, the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“It's a good thing you and your pills weren't around a few hundred years ago or there never would have been a Vermeer or a Caravaggio. You'd have drugged "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Taking of Christ" right the hell out of them.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“The world goes on, stupid and brutal, but I do not. Can't you see? I do not.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“The more obscure our tastes, the greater the proof of our genius.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“There were nights when I got nothing, [but] I still played. With no one to hear me and no one to pay me, and it did not matter.
On those nights, the words were for me alone. They came up unbidden from my heart. They slipped over my tongue and spilled from my mouth. And because of them I, who was nothing and nobody, was a prince of Denmark, a maid of Verona, a queen of Egypt. I was a sour misanthrope, a beetling hypocrite, a conjurer's daughter, a mad and murderous king.
It was dark and it was cold on those nights. The world was harsh and I was hungry. Yet I had such joy from the words. Such joy.
There were times when I lifted my face to the sky, stretched my arms wide to the winter night, and laughed out loud, so happy was I.
The memory of it makes me laugh now, but not from happiness.
Be careful what you show the world.
You never know when the wolf is watching.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“One expects decent people to stand up for the good of all. Decent people shut their doors and hide behind them as decent people do. Massacres could never happen if it weren't for decent people.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“Happiness was useless to me. It was heartache that filled my purse. What happy man has need of Shakespeare?”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
“It has an L on it. L for love. See? It's the key to the universe, Dad. You said you were looking for it. You told Mom you were. I found it for you so you don't have to look anymore. So you can come home at night.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, quote from Revolution
Jennifer Donnelly
Born place: The United States
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“What have you done? What have you given up?'
So many things, Cecily. More than you know.”
― Lauren DeStefano, quote from Wither
“Hold my hand in yours, and we will not fear what hands like ours can do.”
― quote from The Epic of Gilgamesh
“...in the end, all I want is to be with him. It's the only way my life feels complete.”
― Alyson Noel, quote from Shadowland
“But-! I say! The common conventions of humanity-'
'Are all very well for common people.”
― H.G. Wells, quote from The Invisible Man
“If my life were a book and you read it backward, nothing would change. Today is the same as yesterday. Tomorrow will be the same as today. In the book of Maddy, all the chapters are the same.
Until Olly.”
― Nicola Yoon, quote from Everything, Everything
Alpha
The Hour of the Star
Devoured
Nothing Left to Lose
CosmosBookQuoters 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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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.
