Top Ten Tuesday- Top 10 Inspiring Quotes from Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top 10 Inspiring Quotes from books – inspires, challenges, makes you think, encourages you, etc.

1- Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi- I read and loved all 3 books in this series- Though they come from different worlds,  Perry and Aria find each other and their relationship is inspiring,  gripping, and all encompassing.

What I was trying to say," Perry whispered, is that I see you in everything. There isn't a word for you that means enough, because you're everything to me." Perfect words," Aria said, her smile wobbling with emotion. "Magical." His mouth found hers again, his kisses hungry, his weight settling onto her. She wove her fingers in his damp curls, and she was gone. Swept away. Nothing else existed beyond his body and hers, moving like strength and surrender, folded into one.

2-The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – this book was beautiful and haunting in description and I luxuriated in the Celia and Marco relationship as the magical circus takes on a life of its own.  

“I have tried to let you go and I cannot. I cannot stop thinking of you. I cannot stop dreaming about you.”

3-I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - There is so much to totally love about this book- family lies, secrets, jealousies but also deep abiding love, compassion, and artistic brilliance.

 

 “I gave up practically the whole world for you,” I tell him, walking through the front door of my own love story. “The sun, stars, ocean, trees, everything, I gave it all up for you.”

“Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of people,” I say. “Maybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time.” Hauling them in as we make choices, good and bad, as we screw up, step up, lose our minds, find our minds, fall apart, fall in love, as we grieve, grow, retreat from the world, dive into the world, as we make things, as we break things.”

 

4- All The Bright Places – Jennifer Niven – a very meaningful read - No matter what we think about these Finch and Violet ---this book speaks volumes about teens and what they grapple with on a daily basis-bullying, death, suicide, depression, mental illness, labels, stigmas, family dysfunction, drugs, you name it!

“You have been in every way all that anyone could be.… If anybody could have saved me it would have been you.”

The thing I realize is that it's not what you take, it's what you leave.

5- The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black - this dark world of Faerie folk living side by side in Fairfold is cunningly slow to unfold. So read very closely all the juicy details and bread crumbs...

 

“And elsewhere in the woods, there is another party, one taking place inside a hollow hill, full of night-blooming flowers. There, a pale boy plays a fiddle with newly mended fingers while his sister dances with his best friend. There, a monster whirls about, branches waving in time with the music.  There, a prince of the Folk takes up the mantle of king, embracing a changeling like a brother, and, with a human boy at his side, names a girl his champion.”

6- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell- It is Park and Eleanor who slowly, but surely find one another first through comic books, then music, then conversation. None of their relationship and then their romance is easy, but they find each other and hold on.

 

“I don't like you, Park," she said, sounding for a second like she actually meant it. "I..." - her voice nearly disappeared - "think I live for you."

7- Gabi: A Girl in Pieces by  Isabel Quintero - What I love about Gabi's voice and character is that she is so authentic; she is hilarious in her thoughts and words (she is a wonderful writer and poet- she is compassionate- she is confused) she is just a teen looking for answers.

“The way my Tia looks at Raul is the way I look at Martin. He makes her happy and helps her see that she is stronger than she thought she was. It's not that he makes her stronger, but he definitely helps her see that she has been strong all along.”

8- Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Aria “Do you ever miss anything?”Perry smiled, 'You, all the time.”

 

9- Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles – gotta love those Fuentes brothers!

“You are the one girl that made me risk everything for a future worth having.”

10. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga the best serial killer series!!!

“Jazz hadn't given her many details of exactly what life in the Dent house had been like, but he'd told her enough that she knew it wasn't hearts and flowers. Well, except for the occasional heart cut from a chest. And the kind of flowers you send to funerals.”

Noggin by John Corey Whaley

Noggin by John Corey Whaley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved JCW's first book, Where Things Come Back and Noggin is just as awesome! Even though the premise is as Whaley says, "ridiculous" his writing, his characters, and his words ALL make this book great and a must read. Travis is so believable as a confused teen who has his head re-attached onto someone else's body. Unbelievable, right---but thanks to Dr. Saranson and cryogenics, Travis becomes one of the two patients who come back. With cancer and a body shot to hell with drugs, Travis and his family sign up to have Travis' head frozen and bringing him back...someday. He comes back (a lots quicker than imagined---5 years) to his parents and best friend, Kyle, and girlfriend, Cate, all five years older and moved on. Travis, Kyle, Cate, and new teen friend, Hatton are all characters you like, want to know and very supportive of Travis being back and trying to logically figure out this new life. There were so many wonderful quotes because Whaley is such a tremendous writer--he challenges you with his words and makes you love his characters, their world and their lives.
p. 74 when Travis wants to see his Cate, his soul mate and love "And now I just wanted to see her. I didn't care if she looked different. I didn't care if she had a fiancé and I didn't care if she said she didn't want to see me, because that's bullshit. I was there first, and after seeing Kyle and Audrey an all those kids at school ...all I could think about was seeing and hearing and touching the one person I'd promised to come back for. We had to finish what we started. We got to do that now. No one else could say that. We,,. Lawrence Ramsey could but not one else. We had to go for it. Just like those doctors had done with my head and Jeremy's body, I had to take my old life and mash it together with this new one. That meant there'd probably have to be a few more scars."

View all my reviews

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

I Was Here by Gayle Forman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, what a gripping read but yet another winner from Gayle Forman!!! Cody was a character perplexed and suffering so much guilt about the death of her best friend (soul mate) Meg. Cody's world revolved around Meg Garcia and her family; since her family is not so great---she calls her mom by her first name; doesn't know who her father is and her mother's men never venture to her home (thankfully). As Cody tries to fathom why her best friend killed herself; the reader follows her dogged pursuit of any kind of knowledge that could help her understand why she never saw any hint of Meg's calculated mission. I liked Cody because she was pushed by love for her best friend but also motivated by anger, a chip on her shoulder, and rants against Meg's one-night stand, Ben, for answers. I loved Forman's families- the Garcia family, Tricia, Stoner Richard's family, and Cody and Ben's conversations about their families. A gripping read that does not disappoint with a hard core female protagonist who is determined to rise to the challenge of whatever life throws at her without Meg.

View all my reviews

I'll Give You the Sun - Audiobook by Jandy Nelson

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to this audiobook as part of an April book discussion with a Goodreads group I joined, YG,MG, Seriously. Since I LOVED this book and did not want to read it again, I choose to listen to this book narrated by Julia Whelan and Jesse Bernstein and this venue DID NOT disappoint!!! I recommend YA and adults should read and then listen to this book. There is so much to totally love about this book- family lies, secrets, jealousies but also deep abiding love, compassion, and artistic brilliance.
You can read my book review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Highly recommended- join our April discussion too!

View all my reviews

Top Ten Characters I'd like to check in with now that the series is over

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

 

I have read so many series and loved them and missed them after the last book in the series was finished.  Characters I often think about are:
1. Eleanor and Park - I just want  to know MORE about them! The only book I included in this post.
2. Delirium series by Lauren Oliver- Lena!
3. Legend series by Marie Lu - Day and June
4. Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi - Aria and Perry and Roar in the new world...
5. I Hunt Killers series by Barry Lyga - how are Jasper, Connie, and Howie faring now that serial killer dad is dead?
6. Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - how is Ethan and Lena, John Brown and Liv, Macon, Ridley and Link?
7. Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles - OMG!  I love the Fuentes brothers!!!
8. The Curse Workers by Holly Black - Cassel and Lila!
9. Wake series by Lisa McMann - Janie and Cabel!
10. Gayle Forman's Just One Day and If I Stay series!!! I absolutely love Gayle Forman's characters!

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this amazing novel-in-verse about family, basketball, and twins in one sitting. With words that mirror a basketball bouncing, the reader meets the two Bell brothers who are awesome basketball players supported by a Dad who was once a famous basketball player and a mom who happens to be the principal at their school. The reader is treated to an urban delight of words describing one season, in both basketball and their lives. A book for boys and girls alike and the reluctant reader, highly recommended!

View all my reviews

El Deafo by Cece Bell

El Deafo by Cece Bell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read El Deafo because my elementary librarian friends highly recommended I and it won the 3rd round of SLJ's Battle of the Books! Cece Bell's memoir in graphic novel form about her young life, becoming ill and losing her hearing is gripping, funny, and poignant. Cece's illustrations are always bright even when Cece is not happy with her life. She has a phonic ear that helps her hear; sometimes more than she would like- but this aid also make her feel conspicuous too. The reader really learns what it is like to be severely deaf and the many childhood stories El Deafo shares about growing up (sleep overs, friends, being a super hero, and crushes) will stay with me. Highly recommended. This is a book that children, teens and adults should read.

View all my reviews