Marc Tan > Marc's Quotes

“Life has given me little reason to feel large, but I see no need to make myself feel smaller.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time.”
― Marie Lu, Legend

“If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system.That's much more powerful than rebelling outside the system.”
― Marie Lu, Legend

“Forever and ever, kid, until you're sick and tired of seeing me.”
― Marie Lu, Legend

“You’ll never regret a decision more than the one you make out of fear. Fear tells you to make your life small. Fear tells you to think small. Fear tells you to be small-hearted. Fear seeks to preserve itself, and the bigger you let your life and perspective and heart get, the less air you give fear to survive.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“You are not a creature of grief. You are not a congregation of wounds. You are not the sum of your losses. Your skin is not your scars. Your life is yours, and it can be new and wondrous. Remember that.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“I told you that there are many things that poetry won't do. But there are many things poetry will do. Poetry makes arguments. It presents cases for better ways of living and seeing the world and those around us. It heals wounds. It opens our eyes to wonder and ugliness and beauty and brutality. Poetry can be the one light that lasts the night. The warmth that survives the winter. The harvest that survives the long drought. The love that survives death. The things poetry can do are far more important than the things it can't.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“I lower the visor against the sinking sun. A ray catches a crack in the windshield and illuminates it, a tiny comet. I've always loved when the light finds the broken spots in the world and makes them beautiful.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“There are secret fires you wall off because you fear what they'll burn if you loose them. Because you choose caution over possibility. But at the first crack in the wall, you feel their warmth and decide you'll gladly risk the burning.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“Life often won't freely give you moments of joy. Sometimes you have to wrench them away and cup them in your hands to protect them from the wind and rain.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“This is what you remember of the people you love when they're gone—the ways they knew you that no one else did—even you. In that way, their passing is a death of a piece of yourself.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“I wish our love was enough to keep whole the people we loved”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“The human eye can discern more shades of green than of any other color. My friend Delaney told me that. She said it's an adaption from when ancient humans lived in forests. Our eyes evolved that way as a survival mechanism to spot predators hiding in the vegetation.”
― Jeff Zentner, In the Wild Light

“The world was collapsing, and the only thing that really mattered to me was that she was alive.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“She raised an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

You'd probably kick my butt."

You know I'd kick your butt."

I brushed the cake off my hands. "When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable . . . Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

Annabeth kept her eyes on the horizon. "Yeah?"

Then up on Olympus," I said, "when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking-"

Oh, you so wanted to."

Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought-I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking . . ." My throat felt really dry.

Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asked, her voice soft.

I looked over and saw that she was trying not to smile.

You're laughing at me," I complained.

I am not!"

You are so not making this easy."

Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands
around my neck. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“Once she was gone, I knelt next to Annabeth and felt her forehead. She was still burning up.
"You're cute when you're worried," she muttered. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."
"You are not going to die while I owe you a favor," I said. "Why did you take that knife?"
"You would've done the same for me."
It was true. I guess we both knew it. Still, I felt like somebody was poking my heart with a cold metal rod.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“I found myself staring at her, which was stupid since I'd seen her a billion times. Still, she seemed so much more mature. It was kind of intimidating. I mean, sure, she'd always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“Well . . . sure good to be together again. Arguing. Almost dying. Abject terror. Oh, look. It's our floor.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“Race you to the road?" I said.
"You are so going to lose." She (Annabeth) took off down Half-Blood Hill and I sprinted after her.
For once, I didn't look back.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people."
She nodded. "And so...hypothetically, if these to people likes each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"
"Oh..." I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows-slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um...”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“Annabeth frowned. "That doesn't make sense. But why were you visiting --" Her eyes widened. "Hermes said you bear the curse of Achilles. Hestia said the same thing. Did you . . . did you bathe in the River Styx?"
"Don't change the subject."
"Percy! Did you or not?"
"Um . . .maybe a little.”
― Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian

“Mal,” I whispered into the night.
“What?”
“Thanks for finding me.”
I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but somewhere in the dark, I thought I heard him whisper, “Always.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

“I'm not like you, Mal. I never really fit in the way you did. I never really belonged anywhere."
"You belonged with me.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

“They are orphans again, with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

“A moment later the boy whispered, "I don't think you're ugly."
"Shhhh!" the girl hissed. But hidden by the deep shadows of the cupboard, she smiled”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

“Just you and me."
"Really?"
"It's always just you and me, Alina.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

“We could all probably be a little more benevolent in life. We all live here, after all. We all share the same mighty good company of the stars at night, and everyone deserves kindness, and survival. Everyone deserves to be seen.”
― Kathleen Glasgow, You'd Be Home Now

“You can’t put your life on hold for somebody else, you know? Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to make yourself happy. And if you’re not, like, solid with yourself, how can you help somebody else?”
― Kathleen Glasgow, You'd Be Home Now