Quotes from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader

Cassandra Clare ·  198 pages

Rating: (4.9K votes)


“See, Jace never learned how to flirt properly, because he was raised by a murderous sociopath.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“If you’ve been reading the Mortal Instruments for any length of time, you know that only two things are certain: Dead doesn’t necessarily mean dead, and you never know whose blood is going to wind up running through your veins.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“It's significantly more satisfying to kick a wall than it is to kick thin air. For the rebellious teen- or the teen who wants to feel like a rebel- a clearly defined law gives you something to define yourself against.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“Not every girl can be Isabelle Lightwood or Katniss Everdeen. I think the true measure of a hero is what a person does with what they have, how hard they are willing to fight, and how far they are willing to go to set things right.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“The only thing more dangerous than a willingness to ignore the Law is an ability to change it.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader



“Places, like people, are complex, and loving them isn't simple.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“Everyone loves a kick-ass girl. (Well- maybe not her enemies, but you know what I mean.)”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“A fighter is someone who fights- with everything and anything she has at her disposal.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“It's her ability as an artist to see possibility where others see a blank page and, by extension, to see victory where others see certain defeat that truly empowers her...”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“One of the greatest tragedies of growing up is the discovery that your parents- and your teachers, and your sports heroes, and your favorite actors, singers, YouTube sensations- are fallible. Adults don't know all, and what they do know, they often won't tell you- because they've got their own agendas, or because they want to shield you from the hard truths "for your own good." Adults lie, they betray, they screw up in every way possible...”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader



“Every city, every town, hides beneath a certain amount of glamour that- either intentionally or not- can misdirect the eye or hide something worth finding. Learning to see through those glamours is part of the process of calling any place home.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“Popularity gives you power only over people who care about being popular. Ostracism gives you power only over those who fear being ostracized.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“Even places you know well can take on a touch of the unknown when you arrive there from a different direction.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“Art is a kind of magic. Creativity is mysterious, even to artists, who might be able to name their inspiration but can't always explain how their influences and experiences came together to create this new thing- this painting, this story, this song. If you break art down to its base elements, there's nothing miraculous about the letters of the alphabet or a drop of paint. But an artist can put those elements together to create something powerful, something that moves us and withstands the test of time. A work that no one but that artist could have imagined, let alone created.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“Art is magic, and art is powerful. Art saves lives- I really believe that. It gives us courage and compassion we might not have on our own.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader



“In a city, with all of its enclaves and boundaries, both real and imagined, it is impossible not to feel the presence of those who are not like you and impossible not to feel like an outsider.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“But Clary's a hero at heart- and that means she'll find a way to be the hero she needs to be, to look beyond the skills she doesn't have and draw on the skills she does have to ultimately save the day.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


Love is what matters. Love is the song you hear even while you sleep, and you know you are healed, and safe, and where you belong.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“No matter how terrifying, they need to decide that the only rules that matter are the ones they write themselves.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“But if home suddenly becomes not like home, what then?”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader



“I always assume people are hiding parts of themselves from each other. People do that.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“You have to look at a thing long enough for it to really show itself to you...”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“Cities have the capability to at any moment shift out of the familiar, even if you've lived in one all your life.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“The beauty of fantasy is that it allows the protagonist to pass through fear to come to know this different reality and to find a place in it.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“As an artist, her imagination isn't fettered by the constraints of reality.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader



“We live vicariously through stories, because our own lives provide so few opportunities for high-stakes adventure and noble sacrifice.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“There are a few things that even sarcasm can't protect you from.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“There is the world you know, the world you have always known; and then you blink, and there is a place you never had any inkling of, and it spreads out across your eyescape. And then, most shockingly of all: there is the realization that these two places are one and the same. It turns out you never really knew the world around you at all. This is often the moment at which adventure begins.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“I started grasping at moments that weren't misery. Slowly, slowly, I found them.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader


“There are more hidden spaces in a city, more hidden lives and hidden emptinesses, and more darkened windows where shadow people pass fleetingly in and out of sight.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader



About the author

Cassandra Clare
Born place: Teheran, Iran
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Through my history's despite
and ruin, I have come
to its remainder, and here
have made the beginning
of a farm intended to become
my art of being here.
By it I would instruct
my wants: they should belong
to each other and to this place.
Until my song comes here
to learn its words, my art
is but the hope of song.

(Part 2 from History is Clearing, p 174)”
― Wendell Berry, quote from The Collected Poems, 1957-1982


“We might have known from the first that human curiosity is undying, and that the results we announced would be enough to spear others ahead on the same age-long pursuit of the unknown.”
― H.P. Lovecraft, quote from At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror


“Monica, "Asker adam, dinle," dedi, elleriyle insanlara gülmeyi kesmelerini işaret etti. "Asker adam, gidip onur yiyecek, vicdan mı içeceksin? Karın ve çocukların, elin boş döndüğünü görünce seni mutlu mesut karşılayacaklar mı? Sana daha önce de söylemedik mi? Sen delisin. Yalnızca deliler orduda albay olup ülkeden para çalmadan döner.”
― Uwem Akpan, quote from Say You're One of Them


“The Library of Alexandria?" I ask. "Didn't that burn down?"
Mrs Philipoulus scoffs. "Damn fool Hypatia. Athena tried to convince her to install a sprinkler system. But no-o-o, no one was going to tell the librarianatrix how to run her library.”
― Tera Lynn Childs, quote from Goddess Boot Camp


“Hal answered him. “We’re as sure as we can be. The guard captain said he found a ball of yellow glass. What else could it be?” Jesper shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe a ball of yellow glass?”
― John Flanagan, quote from The Hunters


Interesting books

The Late Mattia Pascal
(10.5K)
The Late Mattia Pasc...
by Luigi Pirandello
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
(63.1K)
The Black Swan: The...
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Lean Mean Thirteen
(80.5K)
Lean Mean Thirteen
by Janet Evanovich
The Falls
(8.6K)
The Falls
by Joyce Carol Oates
The Seer and the Sword
(9.5K)
The Seer and the Swo...
by Victoria Hanley
Poughkeepsie
(12.2K)
Poughkeepsie
by Debra Anastasia

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.