Quotes from Neal Shusterman

I have come to realize that there are only two perfect acts. They are the two most important acts known to me, but I forbid myself to perform them, and leave them in the hands of humankind. They are the creation of life...and life's taking.

The Thunderhead sees just about everything, what with cameras everywhere. But it also decides what infractions are worth the effort to address and which ones are not.

Which means," said Rowan, "that this is your fault." And then he added with a little bit of derision, "Your Excellency.

And you, Rowan, will complete your training in the capable hands of Honorable Scythe Goddard.

I think all young women are cursed with a streaks of unrelenting foolishness, and all young men are cursed with a streak of absolute stupidity.

war, the issue doesn't matter anymore, because now it's about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hates the other." The

It had come out of nowhere—and he knew that nowhere often spat forth some very important things.

The index is supposed to keep the world free from cultural and genetic bias, but aren't there underlying factors that we can't escape? For instance, who decided that the first number of one's genetic index would be Caucasoid? —From the gleaning journal of H.S. Curie

Why am I seeing a beach ball?

Por favor... - diz o garoto. [...] O que ele realmente esta dizendo é: por favor, seja humana. Com uma vida tão cheia de regras e controle, é tão fácil esquecer que é isso que eles são. Ela sabe - ela entende - com que frequência a compaixão é suplantada pela conveniência.

Love is the finest and foulest thing in the world. It will drive a man to greatness even while driving him into despair.

THE OLD GUARD AND THE NEW ORDER

They lived in a world where nothing anyone did really mattered. Survival was guaranteed. Income was guaranteed. Food was plentiful, and comfort was a given. The Thunderhead saw to everyone's needs. When you need nothing, what else can life be but pleasant?

Here, here, seconded Scythe Rand. You can come to my room and break my neck any time.

Well, perhaps this isolation was a Texas thing. Rules and traditions were different here than in the rest of the Mericas. They didn't call it the Lone Star region for nothing.

Words don't hurt you." Which is one of the hugest criminal lies perpetrated by adults against children in this world. Because words hurt more than any physical pain.

Remorse. Regret. Sorrow too great to bear. Because if we didn't feel those things, what monsters would we be?

Esa es la rabia que lo embarga cuando no hay nadie mirándolo.

All that was left of it now were the ends; two rusting steel pylons reaching heavenward, at a slight lean toward each other. In daylight, from certain angles, it played a trick on the eye. One could almost see the trajectory of their yearning, following their invisible paths up and across. One could see the ghost of the entire arch just from the hint of its bases.

I won't steal from her. I would never hurt one person's chances to help another—even if that other person was someone I cared about.

The Thunderhead gave us a perfect world. The utopia that our ancestors could only dream of is our reality.

very few of the jobs are necessary, since they could all be accomplished by machines—but the illusion of purpose is critical to a well-adjusted population.

Por favor... - diz o garoto. [...] O que ele realmente está dizendo é: por favor, seja humana. Com uma vida tão cheia de regras e controle é tão fácil esquecer que é isso que eles são. Ela sabe - ela entende - com que frequência a compaixão é suplantada pela conveniência.

Rowan did. And so did Esme. "Scythe Volta is always cranky after a gleaning," Esme leaned over to tell Rowan. "Don't stare at him, or he'll throw something at you.