Quotes from Shug

Jenny Han ·  248 pages

Rating: (9.3K votes)


“Some girls are pretty, and it’s like they were destined for it. They were meant to be pretty, and as for the rest of us, well, we get to exist on the outer edges of life. It’s like moths. They’re the same as butterflies, aren’t they? They’re just gray. They can’t help being gray, they just are. But butterflies, they’re a million different colors, yellow and emerald and cerulean blue. They’re pretty. Who’d dare kill a butterfly? I don’t know of a single soul who’d lift a finger against a butterfly. But most anybody would swat at a moth like it was nothing, and all because it isn’t pretty. Doesn’t seem fair, not at all.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“People are gonna disappoint you sometimes. We’re flawed creatures. Not one of us is perfect, not even you, and you’ve gotta let people mess up and then you’ve gotta forgive them. That’s just life.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“Some girls are pretty and they were born for it but no matter what always be yourself because people might see the wrong side of you”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“Things can’t stay the same forever, Annemarie. People change; they grow up. That’s the way it’s supposed to happen.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“As I bicycle home, it starts to rain, cold, almost-snow kind of rain, and I’m glad. I can blame my wet cheeks on the rain.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug



“There is something about walking into a room full of boys that makes you feel exposed, inadequate, like you come up short in every way that matters. It didn't used to be like this, and I don't know when it changed, but now it feels like it was always this way.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“All of this love crap makes me want to puke.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“people who don’t face their problems head-on are the worst kind of cowards.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“When something that terrible, that horrible happens to you, you don’t want to talk about it with anyone. You want to bury it deep inside you and let it rest in peace. You want to forget it ever happened. You want to stay home from school.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“I am wearing an old yellow sundress of Celia's, and I have tied my hair back with green ribbon. I think I look real nice. And all they see is the cake.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug



“People will love you or hate you for being different, but who’s to say which way it’ll go? You never know. It’s completely arbitrary.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“it’s hard to believe everything won’t be this way forever—the two of us on our bikes going”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“When something that terrible, that horrible happens to you, you don't want to talk about it with anyone. You want to bury it deep inside you and let it rest in peace. You want to forget it ever happened.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“Daddy thinks that Mama is everything a woman should be: beautiful, clever, charming. Beauty has a way of making the bad things tolerable. When Mama tilts her green eyes at you, it's hard to remember why you were mad in the first place.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


“Some girls are pretty, and it's like they were destined for it. They were meant to be pretty, and as for the rest of us, well, we get to exist on the outer edges of life. It's like moths. They're the same as butterflies, aren't they? They're just grey. They can't help being grey, they just are. But butterflies, they're a million different colours, yellow and emerald and cerulean blue. They're pretty. Who'd dare kill a butterfly? I don't know of a single soul who'd life a finger against a butterfly. But most anybody would swat at a moth like it was nothing, and all because it isn't pretty. Doesn't seem fair, not at all.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug



“Then she'll drink. Sometimes it's like there's this well of sadness inside her, and she has to drink to fill it up. And then sometimes it's like there's a monster inside of her, and drinking's the only thing that will calm it down. And sometimes she drinks just because.”
― Jenny Han, quote from Shug


About the author

Jenny Han
Born place: The United States
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“The minister spoke in a well-modulated voice. Then we joined in singing. I could not help but make comparisons: the dirty prison dormitory, infection-ridden and filthy, the beds full of lice, and now this. Clean sheets and pillow cases and a spotless floor. The hoarse voices of the slave drivers and the mature, melodious voice of the minister. Only the singing was the same, for we had sung at Ravensbruck. Singing was one of the ways we kept up our courage.”
― Corrie ten Boom, quote from Tramp for the Lord


“Forward! Still forward!" said he. "When it shall be time, God will tell me, as he has told the others.”
― Alexandre Dumas, quote from The Man in the Iron Mask


“He had never fainted in his life, and while he knew it was this whole life-mate, mind-blowing-sex business, it was still damned demoralizing to be fainting like a breathless virgin at the end of every encounter.”
― Lynsay Sands, quote from The Reluctant Vampire


“I'm so hungry," Amy said sleepily.
"Hey, you stole my line," Dan said.”
― Jude Watson, quote from A King's Ransom


“One of the aspects of the genius of Franklin Delano Roosevelt was that, although a convinced Democrat, he was quite prepared to use talent wherever he found it.”
― Frederick Forsyth, quote from Avenger


Interesting books

A House for Mr Biswas
(15.3K)
A House for Mr Biswa...
by V.S. Naipaul
Agnes Grey
(41.6K)
Agnes Grey
by Anne Brontë
The Reckoning
(7.4K)
The Reckoning
by Sharon Kay Penman
When the Wind Blows
(42.8K)
When the Wind Blows
by James Patterson
Sins of the Night
(31.5K)
Sins of the Night
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Where Things Come Back
(18.3K)
Where Things Come Ba...
by John Corey Whaley

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.