Quotes from The Year of Secret Assignments

“I'm screwed up, mixed up, messed around, dive-bombing, crashing and burning.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“I saw your name in lights last night.
It's the middle of the night,
and I can't sleep,
thinking all my trumpeting thoughts,
and I get out of bed,
open the curtains,
and look into the night full of stars,
and you know what I saw?
Your name.
Like the stars joined up and spelled the word for me.
Like a sign.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“It's a lot easier to be crazy or mad than to just get on with living.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“Emily: YOU CAN'T SPEAK AND TYPE AT THE SAME TIME, BINDY!

Bindy: Watch me.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“Well, first you have to be very, very funny. I have realized that it is essential for a boy to be funny. Otherwise, what is the point in a boy?”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“Are you sure you want me to go after Christina? Lately I've kind of thought I might just give up on that. Plus, didn't you and I need to gaze into each other's eyes first? How will I know how to gaze at Christina? And my pebble kicking? Disaster.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“I was just peeling some potatoes for dinner and they all looked like crisp white potatoes until I cut them in half. Every single one had a rotten, gray core. [. . .] I feel like the whole world is black, rotting, and evil. Even when it looks crisp on the outside, that's a lie, because you can't trust anything - on the inside it's nothing like mold. [. . .] So, see, nothing good is ever going to happen, and anyone who says it is, is lying to you.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“My father, I never knew, except for this one time when he threw a ball and told me to go fetch it.

"Dad," I said. "Am I a dog?"

"Lydia," he said. "I apologize.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“You're making me nervous by being so weird.
But your weirdness is what I like about you.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“THERE IS A GAS LEAK IN THE BASEMENT OF THE SCHOOL. THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC. IT IS JUST A GAS LEAK WHICH MAY LEAD TO AN EXPLOSION AT ANY MOMENT. PLEASE ALL GO TO THE OVAL, AS PER THE FIRE DRILLS.

-Charlie on the P.A.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“I've been sniffing out the guys in my English class (to the extent that this is possible without getting my throat cut), but they smell the same way they always do: like feet and testicles. As opposed to freesias.

I don't want to keep sniffing them, Lyd.

- Letter from Seb to Lyd.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“My mind is like the streets of Hong Kong.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“Brookfield High School. How may I direct your call? No, sir, this is not a waste- disposal unit, I'm afraid you have the wrong number.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“...Her parents were going to a conference for the weekend. The conference was called "Lawyers are Lovely, Great and Superb: so Why Does Everyone Think that They are Liars, Greedy and Scum?" and Mr Thomson was doing a speech called "Ten Tips to Make Lawyers as Popular as Doctors.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“P.S. I will give you a clue about the person I'm interested in. She gets a very cute dimple in her right cheek when she's trying not to smile. She has a very cute way of pronouncing th, and she wears a cute hat on cold days, which is like a French beret. I once had an appointment with her to Gaze into the Girl's Eyes, which she went and cancelled on me, and I've been waiting all term for a chance to Kiss the Girl.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“I am grateful to you for the rest of my life. And when I say "you," I mean every part of you, including your mind and your smile and your giggle and the mad look you get in your eyes sometimes. If you don't believe that your words have got into my soul, take a look at the painting which I took to the art show (it's called The Puppy and the Pyramid, which is what you might call a clue). But if I don't get to kiss you fairly soon, Lyd, I won't have a soul left to speak of.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

“There is no right or wrong; there is no one truth, there are lots of truths. And you girls should translate the world into as many different languages as possible. If you see the world in just one language, your world becomes too small.”
― Jaclyn Moriarty, quote from The Year of Secret Assignments

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Popular quotes

“I quote fictional characters, because I'm a fictional character myself!”
― Carrie Fisher, quote from Wishful Drinking

“É indispensável retirar dos postos de comando todos os gestores que, estúpida e criminosamente, puseram o império à beira da falência. Fizeram um trabalho de sapa e revelaram uma incompetência invulgar, além do que desviaram fundos públicos. Cada pobre exausto e destroçado, cada cego, cada criança nascida na cadeia, cada homem, cada mulher e cada criança torturados pela fome sofrem simplesmente porque a riqueza comum foi desviada por todos esses governantes. Nenhum dos responsáveis dessa classe dirigente pode deixar de ser condenado na barra do tribunal da Humanidade.”
― Jack London, quote from The People of the Abyss

“The summer passed quietly. I busied myself as best I could, reading a good deal.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night

“This was, I decided, my purpose as a dog, to comfort the boy whenever he needed me.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, quote from A Dog's Journey

“Does this mean I get to be part of the team?” She clapped her hands again.
“Yes,” Nate said.
“No,” Gabriel said at the same time.
“Duuuude,” Nate said to Gabriel between his teeth. “I really want to talk to this Mr. Brooks guy.”
“Fine.” Gabriel sighed. “Let her help. I don’t care. But if you die,” Gabriel pointed at Heather, “or get cursed or something, that’s your fault.”
Heather nodded merrily, still clapping. “Yay, I’m part of the team.”
“We’re not a team,” Gabriel said through gritted teeth.
Heather ignored him and looked at Nate. “I think we need a team name.”
“Ooh! Good idea.” Nate pointed a finger into the air. “How about Team Awesome?”
Heather wrinkled her nose. “Too vague. Team Super Secret Fountain Seekers?”
“Too specific.” Nate shook his head. “Team Ash Guy Hunters?”
“Ashman.” Heather shook her head. “Too hard to say.”
Nate scoffed. “And ‘Super Secret Fountain Seekers’ is easy to say?”
Gabriel huffed and started walking toward the door. “You guys can stay here and pick a name and a Team Captain or whatever, but I’m going to find Mr. Brooks.” He opened the door to leave, night falling on the forest around them.
Heather said, “Mr. Brooks doesn’t open his door when it’s dark outside.” She shrugged. “So we’re going to have to wait until tomorrow after school.”
Frustrated, Gabriel closed the cabin door on the setting sun. “Tomorrow then.”
“Perfect.” Nate nodded, shifting his eyes from Scarlet, to Gabriel, and then to Heather.
A moment passed.
“I call dibs on Team Captain,” Nate said.
Gabriel rolled his eyes.”
― Chelsea Fine, quote from Awry

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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.

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