Quotes from Gabrielle Zevin

Jesus, I thought Zuckerman was cheating in you, Chief.

To allow yourself to play with another person is no small risk. It means allowing yourself to be open, to be exposed, to be hurt. It is the human equivalent of the dog rolling on its back—I know you won't hurt me, even though you can. It is the dog putting its mouth around your hand and never biting down. To play requires trust and love.

To return to the city of one's birth always felt like retreat.

If Jenny were a book, she would be a paperback just out of the box—no dog ears, no waterlogging, no creases in her spine.

Besides, I did not require heroism--I had been the hero of my own life for some time.

We agree to be disappointed sometimes so that we can be exhilarated every now and again.

Sam was her friend, but "friend" was a broad category, wasn't it? "Friend" was a word that was overused to the point that it had no meaning at all.

Despite what I said before, it had not been a fear of infecting other people or poor health that had stopped me from going, but vanity. It was a good lesson.

He would know that if he hadn't been the person he was, terrified and cowardly and petty and insecure and sexually panicked and broken, Sadie might have been his.

We are where we are.

How long will I be in here?" I asked. "Varies," said the guard as he closed the door and locked me in. "Usually until Mrs. Cobrawick thinks you learned your lesson. I hate this job. Try not to lose your mind, girl." Those were the last words spoken to me for a very long time. The guard had given me good advice, which turned out to be nearly impossible to follow.

I know he's a good person. And he said he was sorry. And I love him. And when you love a person, you have to forgive him sometimes.

Did you have a ship?" Maya asks. "Yes. It had books on it, and it really was more of a research vessel. We studied a lot." "You're ruining this story." "It's a fact, Maya. There are murdering kinds of pirates and researching kinds of pirates, and your daddy was the latter.

Her mother likes to say that novels have ruined Amelia for real men.

I love you, ... It is hard for me to say, because sometimes it doesn't seem like it is enough.

So I will wait, because I would rather wait for you than waste my time with someone who isn't you. And I will focus on the long game. As they say in baseball, losing game one and even game two is no reason to give up on the whole series. When you're ready, if you're ever ready, give me the word.

Your extracurricular activities are definitely somewhat lackluster, Annie." "What? Being the daughter of a celebrated criminal doesn't count as an extracurricular activity?" "No," Scarlet said. "A case could be made for poisoning your ex-boyfriend however.

My life is in these books, he wants to tell her. Read these and know my heart.

You know what they say. Cold hands. Warm heart," Yuji said. "Or is it the reverse?

He was like a bright, warm light over everything in her life. She felt lit up, turned on. There was no one better to talk to about games. Yes, she loved him, but she also liked him. She liked herself when she was with him.

The day my father shook my hand, I knew I was a writer.

reaction speaks to the necessity of encountering stories at precisely the right time in our lives.

Marx was fortunate because he saw everything as if it were a fortuitous bounty.

but it is only because we are isolated that we think we are unlovable. Someday, you do not know when, you will be driving down a road. And someday, you do not know when, he, or indeed she, will be there. You will be loved because for the first time in your life, you will truly not be alone. You will have chosen to not be alone.