“I mean, most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. Stories are the easiest way to do that.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“The beautiful thing about books was that anyone could open them.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he only felt human after doing something monstrous.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Monsters, monsters, big and small,
"They're gonna come and eat you all.
Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw,
Shadow and bone will eat you raw.
Malchai, Malchai, sharp and sly,
Smile and bite and drink you dry.
Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal,
Sing you a song and steal your soul.
Monsters, monsters, big and small,
They're gonna come and eat you all!”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“You wanted to feel alive, right? It doesn't matter if you're monster or human. Living hurts.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“He wasn't made of flesh and bone, or starlight.
He was made of darkness.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“She cracked a smile. "So what's your poison?"
He sighed dramatically, and let the truth tumble off his tongue. "Life."
"Ah," she said ruefully. "That'll kill you.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“We are the darkest acts made light.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Nobody gets to stay the same.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“He could be the monster if it kept others human.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Why did everyone have to ruin the quiet by asking questions? The truth was a disastrous thing.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“People are users. It’s a universal truth. Use them, or they’ll use you.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“I read somewhere," said Kate, "that people are made of stardust."
He dragged his eyes from the sky. "Really?"
"Maybe that's what you're made of. Just like us."
And despite everything, August smiled.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“But the teacher had been right about one thing: violence breeds.
Someone pulls a trigger, sets off a bomb, drives a bus full of tourists off a bridge, and what's left in the wake isn't just she'll casings, wreckage, bodies. There's something else. Something bad. An aftermath. A recoil. A reaction to all that anger and pain and death.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
In with gunfire and out with smoke.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“It hurts,” he whispered.
“What does?” asked Kate.
“Being. Not being. Giving in. Holding out. No matter what I do, it hurts.” Kate tipped her head back against the tub. “That’s life, August,” she said. “You wanted to feel alive, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re monster or human. Living hurts.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Sing you a song and steal your soul.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Even if surviving wasn't simple, or easy, or fair.
Even if he could never be human.
He wanted the chance to matter.
He wanted to live.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“I'd rather be able to see the truth than live a lie.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“It was a cycle of whimpers and bangs, gruesome beginnings and bloody ends.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Whatever he was made of — stardust or ash or life or death — would be gone.
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
In with gunfire and out with smoke.
And August wasn’t ready to die.
Even if surviving wasn’t simple, or easy, or fair.
Even if he could never be human.
He wanted the chance to matter.
He wanted to live.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights,” she said, shimmying along the edge.
“Not heights,” he murmured. “Just falling.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Why are there so many shadows in the world, Kate? Shouldn’t there be just as much light?”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“There are no monsters in the dark.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“Listen to me,” he said, pulling off his coat. “You need to stay awake.”
She almost laughed, a shallow chuckle cut short by pain.
He tore the lining from the Colton jacket. “What’s so funny?”
“You’re a really shitty monster, August Flynn.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“He shrugged, and for a second they stood there, sizing each other up, the moment stretching, the gaze growing uncomfortable until his gray eyes finally broke free, escaping to the ground. Kate smiled, victorious. She gestured to the patch of pavement, the border of grass. “What brings you to my office?”
He looked around, confused, as if he’d actually intruded. Then he looked up and said, “The view.”
Kate flashed a crooked grin. “Oh really?”
His face went red. “I didn’t mean you,” he said quickly. “I was talking about the trees.”
“Wow,” she said dryly. “Thanks. How am I supposed to compete with pine and oak?”
“I don’t know,” said Freddie, cocking his head. Stray dog again. “They’re pretty great.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“I am Sunai,” he said. “I am holy fire. And if I have to burn the world to cleanse it, so help me, I will.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“The witching hour, people used to call it, that dark time when restless spirits reached for freedom.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“There would be a time to call the music. Time to summon the souls.”
― Victoria Schwab, quote from This Savage Song
“ATHENA: You wish to be called righteous rather than act right. [...] I say, wrong must not win by technicalities.”
― Aeschylus, quote from The Oresteia
“Razo hopped back up and adopted a posture that said he was completely unruffled, never had been, and in fact was ready to do something manly like lift boulders or swallow live worms.”
― Shannon Hale, quote from River Secrets
“It seemed to him that the little Manchu had never looked so radiant. She gave him a most charming smile, but her eyes were all for the boy.”
― James Hilton, quote from Lost Horizon
“It’s nice to have eye candy around for my enjoyment.” He looked Brad over. “It wouldn’t kill you to pretty yourself up if you’re going to be in my presence.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” Brad said wryly.
“See that you do.”
― R.L. Mathewson, quote from Playing for Keeps
“Before she could answer, the waiter sprang at his chance to brush some crumbs from David's chair. He had been hanging around their table like a vulture, waiting for them to eat the last papadum crumb so he could take away the basket. He eyed the last piece sadly, as if it were the barrier between him and eternal happiness. Ginny grabbed it and shoved it in her mouth. The man looked relieved and took the basket but immediately returned to stare mournfully at their water glasses.”
― Maureen Johnson, quote from 13 Little Blue Envelopes
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.