“Being the reader of a dark fairy tale is much like being the hero of one. Our lives are filled with pain, boredom, and fear. We want to venture into the dark wood, to see the oddities and the beauties it holds, and to test ourselves against them. So we pick up a book of fairy tales. The real ones. THe weird ones. The dark ones. We see oddities and beauties galore. We test our courage and our understanding. Finally, we put the book down and return to our lives. And hopefully, just like the hero of the fairy tale, we return stronger, richer, and wiser. In difficult times - of recession and violence and political bitterness - we long for a dark forest to which we can escape; and from which we can return, better than we were before.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“Wait!” the prince exclaimed. “After you kill it, can I ride it?”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“There is a power in children. There is a belief. A strength. A joy that makes just about anything possible.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“But Joringel had no chance to answer. For Jorinda ran at her brother and threw her arms around him and held him so tight he could not breathe.
Little Jorinda and little Joringel held each other for a long, long time. Neither said a word.
At last Joringel withdrew and looked at his sister. "If you won't leave me," he whispered, "I won't leave you”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“Anger is a weed...It grows up through the soil, choking every other plant. You must stamp it out. Don't let it enter your garden. Stamp out your anger until it never comes back.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“And if this seems strange to you—that, under these difficult, frightening, and outlandish circumstances, children might be happy...well, then you don't know all that much about children.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“You see, my parents never cut off my head physically...But maybe emotionally...Most parents love their children and try to take care of them the best that they can. But parents mess up, all the time.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“(T)hey at last understood that their problems would never have been solved by trying to cover them up or choke them back or pretend they didn't exist. By repression. No, their problems could only be solved by expression. By telling their tales, and by making up new ones, too.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“And never cry," she said. "Choke back your tears. Tears are waves on the ocean of sadness. You will drown in them if you're not careful. Believe me. I know.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“Well, feelings become words, and words become deeds, Jorinda was not only sneering at compliments, but also at complaints. She was not only jerking her head away to avoid seeing smiles, but also to avoid seeing tears. She frowned not just at those who bowed to her. She frowned at everyone.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“Because, you see, in life, every triumph begins with failure.”
― Adam Gidwitz, quote from The Grimm Conclusion
“Ben had the most expressive face I’d ever seen. When he told a story, he dove into it, re-enacting each character with a new set of his jaw and cast of his brow. His eyes shone vibrantly, and every time he laughed, it showed in his whole body. Just watching him made me smile. I felt warm around him, and happy, and comfortable. I felt like flannel pajamas, hot cocoa, a teddy bear, and my favorite comedy on DVD. I felt like home.
I loved Ben, that’s what I felt. It popped into my head, and I didn’t doubt it for a second. I loved Ben.
Well that was settled then, wasn’t it?
Then my eyes darted to Sage, and I noticed he wasn’t focused on Ben’s story either. He was watching me. He was watching me watch Ben, to be precise, leaning back on his elbows and staring so fixedly that I could practically hear him scratching his way into my brain to listen to what I was thinking.
And the minute I felt that, I was desperate to take back what I’d thought, and make sure he hadn’t understood. Especially since I had this strong feeling that if he believed I loved Ben, he’d disappear. Maybe not right away, but as soon as he could. And that would be the end of the world.
“Okay, Sage, your turn,” Rayna said. “What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done in the middle of a social function?”
Instantly Sage’s intense stare was gone, replaced by a relaxed pose and a charming smile. “Um, I would say doing a spit take in front of Clea’s mom, several senators, and the Israeli foreign minister would probably cover it.”
“You did that?” I asked.
“Oh yes, he did,” Rayna nodded.
“And the minister still offered you his house in Tel Aviv for the honeymoon? That’s shocking.”
“Rayna is particularly charming,” Sage noted.
“Thank you, darling.” She batted her eyes at him like a Disney princess.
“What happened?” Ben asked. “Piri spiked your drink with garlic?”
“You say that like it’s a joke,” Sage said. “I’m pretty sure she did.”
“She must really have it out for you,” Ben said. “Palinka’s Hungarian holy water. You don’t mess with that.”
“Speaking of holy water, I so did not get that on our trip,” Rayna put in. “Clea and I were touring one of the cathedrals in Italy, and in front of the whole tour I go, “That’s too cute! Look, they have birdbaths in the church!”
― Hilary Duff, quote from Elixir
“I deserve to be happy. I'm sad it took me so long to get that. But I get it now.”
― Susane Colasanti, quote from Keep Holding On
“I beg your pardon?” Catherine interrupted. “Are you implying that women have poor judgment?”
“In these matters, yes.” Leo gestured to Christopher. “Just look at the fellow, standing there like a bloody Greek god. Do you think she chose him because of his intellect?”
“I graduated from Cambridge,” Christopher said acidly. “Should I have brought my diploma?”
“In this family,” Cam interrupted, “there is no requirement of a university degree to prove one’s intelligence. Lord Ramsay is a perfect example of how one has nothing to do with the other.”
― Lisa Kleypas, quote from Love in the Afternoon
“But naked wasn’t something done around human pups—although he wanted to ask the men why naked from the waist up was all right for them but females remained covered. That didn’t seem fair. Shifting”
― Anne Bishop, quote from Vision in Silver
“Did he really believe God wrote stories that were open to one explanation only? A story that knew but one explanation could hardly be interesting and was certainly not worth the trouble of remembering.”
― Chaim Potok, quote from Davita's Harp
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