Shannon Hale Quotes

She read like a woman drinks water after nearly dying of dehydration. ~ Shannon Hale

Jane and Mr. Nobley entered the great hall, the ceiling dazzling with thousands of real candles that put fire into the white dresses and cravats. Five musicians were seated on a dais--a cello and two violins (or maybe a viola?), a harpsichord, and some kind of wind instrument. From keys and strings, they coaxed a grand prelude to the minuet. Jane looked at everything, smiling at the amusement park novelty of it all. She looked at Mr. Nobley. He was beaming at her. At last.
"You are stunning," he said, and every inch of him seemed to swear that it was true.
"Oh," she said.
He kissed her gloved fingers. He was still smiling. There was something different about him tonight, and she couldn't place what it was. Some new plot twist, she presumed. She was eager to roll around in all the plot she could on her last night, though once or twice her eyes strayed to spot Martin.
Mr. Nobley stood opposite her in a line of ten men. She watched Amelia and Captain East perform the figures. They held each other's gazes, they smiled with the elation of new love. All very convincing.
Poor Amelia, thought Jane.
It was a bit cruel, now that she thought about it, all these actors who made women fall in love with them. Amelia seemed so tenderhearted, and Miss Charming and her heaving breasts so delighted with this world. Jane caught sight of a very striking Colonel Andrews who, now that she watched him dance, might just be gay.
Jane felt a thrumming of foreboding. ~ Shannon Hale

Here you've been, a spider in the corner, observing, weaving Charlotte's web of mystery. ~ Shannon Hale

I've always believed that as an author, I do 50% of the work of storytelling, and the reader does the other 50%. There's no way I can control the story you tell yourself from my book. Your own experiences, preferences, prejudices, mood at the moment, current events in your life, needs and wants influence how you read my every word. ~ Shannon Hale

"Repeat that?"
"It's National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Didn't you know?"
"Somehow I missed the memo."
"You mean, 'Somehow I missed the memo, arrr!'"
"Precisely. Arr. So, Mrs. Jack ... Er, is that still your name? Or, I tremble to ask, have you adopted a pirate identity?"
"Arr, matey, of course I have! It's ... " She pulled an eggplant from the grocery bag. "Captain Eggplantier." She needed to stop speaking the first words that popped into her mind.
"Captain Eggplanteir." He sounded very doubtful.
"That's right. A family name. It's Belgian. ~ Shannon Hale

Good morning! The sun is up! Wake up! Time to eat," said the birds.
"Good morning," Ashlynn said back.
There was a clink of glass slippers against the wood floor, and then her mother appeared in the doorway. She had the same strawberry-blond hair and green eyes as Ashlynn. Her mother was already dressed, but Ashlynn didn't notice the clothes she was wearing. As always, her eyes went right to the glass slippers. Oh, how she loved those shoes.
"Chores, dear!" her mother said, leaning over to kiss the top of Ashlynn's head. "And then you should pack."
"Yes, Mother!"
Ashlynn washed her face, put on an apron, and then opened wide the door to her shoe closet. This princess wouldn't care if she wore a burlap sack every day, so long as she had dozens of footwear choices. Today she settled on a pair of scrappy teal wedges and went to start breakfast. Even though her father's grand house came fully stocked with servants, her mother believed in good, solid, character-forming chores. After all, Ashlynn would inherit her mother's story and become the next Cinderella someday, and there would be lots of floors to mop and hearths to sweep before her Happily Ever After. ~ Shannon Hale

He had a dashing smile. It nearly dashed right off his face. ~ Shannon Hale

You saw my leg?"
"How can a man help what he sees?" he said. "And, if I could add, you possess a very fine leg. ~ Shannon Hale

Uge, save me from the sauce of their loveyness-raso
Forest Born ~ Shannon Hale

She found half of a sea biscuit and offered it to Sus. The young girl held it between two fingers and licked a corner. "It tastes like dirt." "And how would you know?" Felissa said, putting her fists on her hips. "You eat dirt often, do you? Snacking on mud pies when our backs are turned?" "It tastes how dirt smells," Sus said. ~ Shannon Hale

Bury the embers, extinguish the spark
We plunge ourselves in the well of dark
Far from voices that trouble and chatter
Down, deep down, where worries don't matter
Our minds all teem with the unseen thing
But night is a blink and sleep but a dream
Wake, wake, see things as they seem ~ Shannon Hale

Even the jerks earn some of our affection. We can be glad they're gone and yet still mourn the good parts. ~ Shannon Hale

Twenty-two hours, forty-seven minutes, and eighteen seconds to go! ~ Shannon Hale

No. I'm a wreck," she said in the squeaky high voice of one who is determined not to cry. "You do not seem like it," Mrs. Wattlesbrook squeaked back. "Thanks," Charlotte chirped. "I do yoga. Ninety percent of confidence is posture. ~ Shannon Hale

Later, when they would spend straight hours conversing in the dark, Jane would realize that Henry kissed the way he talked- his entire attention taut, focused, intensely hers. ~ Shannon Hale

These stories had intrigued her with their strange mix of violence and love, so unlike the distant, passionless affection of her own mother.
She thought, she hoped, that the handkerchief was something fantastic, like a piece of a tale, but real, and just for her, a symbol of the real, hidden love of her mother. ~ Shannon Hale

A woman without hobbies is dangerously self-negligent. ~ Shannon Hale

Jane looked at everything, smiling at the amusement park novelty of it all. She looked at Mr. Nobley. He was beaming at her. At last.
"You are stunning," he said, and every inch of him seemed to swear that it was true.
"Oh," she said.
He kissed her gloved fingers. He was still smiling. There was something different about him tonight, and she couldn't place what it was. ~ Shannon Hale

No more crying. It's all wetness and no comfort at all. ~ Shannon Hale

You, uh, caught me there at an unladylike moment. Mrs. Wattlesbrook would probably box my ears."
"That's why I spoke. I wanted to let you know you were not alone before you did something
something worse."
"Like what?"
"Whatever women do when they think they're alone. ~ Shannon Hale

The lowlands aren't so different from here," said Britta. "Just bigger and ... " "A lot bigger," said Frid. "It's ~ Shannon Hale

Come on, she willed through the care window. Come on, change me. I dare you. ~ Shannon Hale

His brothers could tease him about his height or the number of scars he was collecting on his body. He could take the joke when they said he would die having never won a fair wrestling match. But the topic of Bettin still smarted too much. He'd imagined being with her always. Now when he closed his eyes, he had trouble imagining anything else. ~ Shannon Hale

The boar, the stag, and the eagle met on the last craggy peak of the world, look down, and sighed at what they saw. The boar was a king, and he said, "There is not enough people." The stag was a poet, and he said, "There is not enough beauty." The eagle was a cleric, and her said, "There is not enough mystery." Then the wolf, arriving late, looked up instead of down and said, "There is not enough hunger," and promptly ate them all.
If the boar was king, the stag was poet, and the eagle was cleric, then what was the wolf? ~ Shannon Hale

Years ago, before this estate was generously and unwillingly turned over to the crown, the lord here was a genuine dimwit. He had a minister stashed behind his throne to whisper clever things to say. ~ Shannon Hale

I agree with Miss Erstwhile, you are acting like a scarecrow. I do not know why you put on this act, Nobley, when around the port table or out in the field you're rather a pleasant fellow."
"Really? That is curious," Jane said. "Why, Mr. Nobley, are you generous in your attentions with gentlemen and yet taciturn and withdrawn around the fairer sex?"
Mr. Nobley's eyes were back on the printed page, though they didn't scan the lines. "Perhaps I do not possess the type of conversation that would interest a lady."
"You say 'perhaps' as though you do not believe it yourself. What else might be the reason, sir?" Jane smiled. Needling Mr. Nobley was feeling like a very productive use of the evening.
"Perhaps another reason might be that I myself do not find the conversation of ladies to be very stimulating." His eyes were dark.
"Hm, I just can't imagine why you're still unmarried."
"I might say the same for you."
"Mr. Nobley!" cried Aunt Saffronia.
"No, it's all right, Aunt," Jane said. "I asked for it. And I don't even mind answering." She put a hand on her hip and faced him. "One reason why I am unmarried is because there aren't enough men with guts to put away their little boy fears and commit their love and stick it out."
"And perhaps the men do not stick it out for a reason."
"And what reason might that be?"
"The reason is women." He slammed his book shut. "Women make life impossible until the man has to be the one to end i ~ Shannon Hale

Then Rin was hugging him. Relief and joy swelled inside her till she thought she would burst.
"Uh ... ," Razo said, patting her head as if she might be crazy.
"You were dead," she mumbled against his chest.
"I was? Well, I wish someone had told me. Would've been nice to relax on my back for a while. Um, how'd I die? ~ Shannon Hale

Being a writer is a good, good thing. ~ Shannon Hale

I didn't raise you I be good and weak. I raised you to be powerful and happy. ~ Shannon Hale

Katar," said Britta, "I thought you would want to stay with your friends from home while they were here, so I had your things moved from your room in the delegates' wing."
"You can have my things brought in too," said Peder, throwing himself onto the nearest bed. He sighed as he sank into the soft mattress and rolled onto his side.
"Um ... I don't think boys are-" Britta began.
"Don't you mind me!" Peder pulled a blanket over his head.
Miri didn't know how he could even pretend to fall asleep. She could barely keep from pacing.
"Don't worry, Britta," said Esa. "We'll kick him out before night. Off to your fancy apprenticeship, big brother."
She nudged Peder's shape under the blanket. Peder made an exaggerated snoring noise. ~ Shannon Hale

Outside her mother's old bedroom, wielding spiky spears and magic staffs. They nodded to her as she opened the door. "Remember," said one, "never touch the mirror." "I remember," she said. The room was ~ Shannon Hale

More guns! Weren't they supposed to just use bully clubs in England? Where had she been getting her information? ~ Shannon Hale

I don't know how you persist in being so stubborn-"
"It's a superpower. I was bitten by a radioactive mule. ~ Shannon Hale

[Boyfriend #8] He left for an internship in Guatamala, a step towards his future career in international affairs. They both cried at the airport. He returned 6 months later and, didn't call. Last year, Jane heard that Bobby, 'Robert' now, was running for Congress. At a recent polling, he wasn't doing so hot in the 30-something-jilted-female demographic. ~ Shannon Hale

I'm the sheen on water, Rin thought. I'm a looking glass. I'm not real. ~ Shannon Hale

The three girls were sitting and lying beside her, holding one another, weeping, their arms and legs and hair tangled like the roots of close trees, sobs shaking them like leaves in a high wind. ~ Shannon Hale

We know it's all just daydreaming ... But sometimes, it'd be nice just to hold something real in your hands that felt like a measure of your worth. ~ Shannon Hale

A warm burning sensation fl ashed in her breasts, and she pressed them with backs of her wrists to stop the milk before it fl owed.

"Ugh, I'm letting down. We'll have to make this fast so I can go pump in the bathroom. I'm used to nursing every couple of hours."

The horror in Felix's eyes was so intense it seemed painful. "Pretend you didn't just say that."

"Say what? I didn't say anything."

He shook his head in disgust. ~ Shannon Hale

For one thing, everyone there is so clever. Do they think me dull?
Perhaps I should assure them that our goats enjoyed listening to me for hours on end. I am certain their bleats meant "Do go on, Miri, darling. You are immensely entertaining."
Your immensely entertaining sister,
Miri ~ Shannon Hale

Miri took genuine comfort in studying Mathematics that day. She could sort numbers into two simple ideas: true and not true. Unlike numbers, words were rarely just one thing. They moved and changed, camouflaging and leaping out unexpectedly. Words were slippery and alive; words wrestled out of her grip and became something new. Words were dangerous. ~ Shannon Hale

Briar thrust a crystal cup with a silver spoon into Apple's hands. "Whipped air. Try it. Totally invisible and totally good." Apple dipped the spoon into the empty cup and touched it to her tongue. The nothingness tasted like chocolate-raspberry swirl. "Mm, this is amazing. ~ Shannon Hale

But Princess Magnolia wore glass slippers on weekdays. Princess Magnolia was afraid of snails. Sunlight made Princess Magnolia sneeze. And at the moment, the Princess in Black was hog-tying a monster. ~ Shannon Hale

Rock Canyon OB-GYN: We're GYNO-MITE! ~ Shannon Hale

I was thinking how you can't tell if a person's beautiful or not by her shadow ... ~ Shannon Hale

Oh, but I like my geese. Like cats, they can't be told what to do, and like dogs, they're loyal, and like people, they talk every chance they get. ~ Shannon Hale

It must be a marvelous thing to feel so sure, to be able to meet someone's eyes and not look away. ~ Shannon Hale

To be powerful, a kiss should make a journey, be its own story
begin with hesitation, move to realization, then melt into bliss. ~ Shannon Hale

We found it!" Charlotte yelled, as they ran back through the house. "We found it, we found it!"
Eddie, Mr. Mallery, and Colonel Andrews came from separate directions, converging in the front hall. Miss Charming was hopping up and down, her bosom nearly rising to slap her own forehead. ~ Shannon Hale

I met Shannon Hale through some friends and family. I was interested in her book called Princess Academy, which is just a very sweet, Newbery-nominated fairy tale for young readers. She was like, "Oh, actually I have something else for you." She gave me Austenland. The next morning, I'm sure I called her and I was like, "Let's make this movie." It is so fun. It just felt so girly and great and a great vehicle for the weird Hess comedy. ~ Jerusha Hess

Raven mumbled something. "Eh? What was that? Speak up! Don't mumble like a caterpillar." "I said, I don't want to scare them." Baba Yaga picked up a blue spray bottle and squirted Raven in the face with water, making Raven blink. "This is how I train my cats not to jump up on my spell table. They learn after a while. Maybe you will, too. ~ Shannon Hale

She put a wedge beside my heart
And then she brought the mallet down
She sang no song to guide her work
I lost my heart without a sound ~ Shannon Hale

Hear the leaves applauding
Hear the wind hurrahing
Hear the surf guffawing
The ways of old are dead
The queen has lost her head ~ Shannon Hale

I know I would crumble if I lost you. ~ Shannon Hale

1 Pardon this highly unusual footnote, but I must break the Narrator's "fourth wall" to explain that this story will be "tricksy" in more than one way. Kitty Cheshire does not like being narrated. She seems to be aware of my watching her, and she resists. At times her thoughts and feelings squirm away from my inspection. I shall do my best, however, to narrate a completely true story about Ever After's most elusive character. ~ Shannon Hale

Okay, okay, I can do this, Jane said to herself. Of course I can do this. I should be used to making a fool out of myself by now. This will be the last big one. Just three weeks and then I can leave this part of myself behind and get on with my life. And maybe it'll be fun. It might even be fun. ~ Shannon Hale

Jane." Molly rubbed her arm. "You've got so much going on! You don't need this Pembrook Park, and you definitely don't need Mr. Darcy."
"I know. I mean, he's not even real. He's not, he's not, I know he's not, but maybe ... "
"There's no maybe. He's not real."
Jane groaned. "But I don't want to have to settle."
"You always do. Every single guy you ever dated was a settle."
She sat up. "None of them loved me, did they? Ever. Some of them liked me or I was convenient but ... Am I truly that pathetic?"
Molly smoothed her hair. "No, of course not," she said, which meant, Yes, but I love you anyway. ~ Shannon Hale

You drink root beer while you watch an NBA game? You are an American wannabe, aren't you?"
"That is perhaps the most horrid thing you could say to an Englishman."
"Worse than French wannabe?"
"Well, there is that. ~ Shannon Hale

Age gave her the peace, at least, to live inside that moment like a poet - to not sacrifice the beauty to the anxiety of What Next, but to just observe. ~ Shannon Hale

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

What should I say? That I like him so much it hurts? ~ Shannon Hale

She's as fetching as brown hair done up with ribbons blue
The mountain, my lady
She's as sweet as pink flowers made bright with morning dew,
Mount Eskel, my lady ~ Shannon Hale

I'm sorry about these two," Mike told the waitress. "Just so you know, I'll be embarrassed with you."
"It's just that we haven't seen each other since summmer camp," Becky said.
"And we'd formed such a bond playing wily tricks on our camp counselors," Felix said.
"Remember how you replaced Miss Pepper's shampoo with liquid Jell-O and turned her hair green?"
"It was sheer genius when you stretched cling film over all the toilet seats."
"Oh." The waitress turned to Mike, as if to address the only sane member of the group. "So, are ya'll ready to eat now, or are you waiting for your date to arrive?"
Mike played with the menu. "Actually, she's my date."
"These are my two husbands," Becky said. "We're from Utah. You know, Mormom. ~ Shannon Hale

Whoa," Becky said, because the baby kicked her hard in the bladder.

Felix startled, backing up and nearly falling over a chair.

"Sorry, I was whoa-ing because right when you came in, the baby kicked, not because you're Felix Callahan. Oh, you know what it reminded me of ? When Elisabeth's baby kicks just as Mary greets her? Isn't that funny? As if I had some spiritual sign when I saw you."

Annette smiled, her eyebrows raised. Felix glared handsomely. Becky stamped down a desire to squirm.

"No, it's not terribly funny," Felix said, "particularly as I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Elisabeth, wife of Zacharias, cousin to Mary, mother of Jesus? No? Nothing?"

Felix looked at her with a careful lack of amusement.

"Oh, maybe you don't have the Bible in England. See, there's this guy named Jesus and his mother is named Mary, and well, it's a really interesting read if you don't mind parables. ~ Shannon Hale

A pod for peas wears hearts on a sleeve. ~ Shannon Hale

A few minutes later, Miss Charming gasped. But then, Miss Charming gasped a lot. She gasped when someone shut a door too loudly; she gasped when there were sausages for breakfast. She sometimes gasped and then coughed, as if she'd meant to cough from the beginning and gotten the two confused. ~ Shannon Hale

You're from where?"
"Lay'en. It's near Salt Lake City."
"Spell that for me."
"Um, that would be S-A-L-T-"
"No, the other one. The city you're from."
"Oh. L-A-Y-T-O-N."
"Ah-Lay-ton."
That's what I said."
"No you didn't. You just said, 'Lay'en.'"
"So I did. But just go ahead and pronounce 'aluminum' for me, Mr. British Man. How are you going to defend that piece of insanity? Why don't you spell it and count syllables and see if your al-um-in-ium makes sense whatsoever?"
He bowed his head. "Touché... ~ Shannon Hale

Look no farther than your hand, make a choice and take a stand ~ Shannon Hale

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. ~ Shannon Hale

Martin of Sheffield,
Age Twenty-Nine
He kissed her like she knew she was meant to be kissed. He smelled of gardens, tricked her brain into believing she was irresistible, and made the idea of falling in love seem possible again.
But really he was an actor posing as a gardener, who posed as a gentleman during balls in an Austenland estate where she'd gone to find out if she could let her fantasy of Mr. Darcy die at last. Seriously.
Also, he turned out to be a jackass. ~ Shannon Hale

Ease up, nasty little frigid pixies ~ Shannon Hale

I don't want you to be lonely," Cedar couldn't help saying. "Or hungry! You two always forget to go shopping till the cupboards are bare. I'll be right back." She grabbed some baskets and ran out of the house.
Old Mother Hubbard's Corner Market was always open early, so Cedar filled her baskets with Pinocchio's and Gepetto's favorite foods: bread, fruitcake, sardines, and humble pie. ~ Shannon Hale

I couldn't see what was real until time had washed away everything else. ~ Shannon Hale

Really, becoming a writer sounds more like a mental illness than a professional choice. ~ Shannon Hale

I can see that one can never pay back Gilsa for the fear that she will give again. ~ Shannon Hale

Razo knew he was best at nothing, except maybe cramming two cherries into a single nostril. ~ Shannon Hale

Why did everyone else seem fine but I felt as if I were living in a cage I'd outgrown two shoe sizes ago? ~ Shannon Hale

Every night before bed, her mother had told her a story that should have been frightening: Scary Evil Queen. Huntsman ordered to cut out her heart. Lost in dark woods with grabby trees. Dwarves, dwarves, more dwarves. Old peddler lady giving her a strangling ribbon. Old peddler lady giving her a poisoned comb. Old peddler lady giving her a poisoned apple. Crunch. Gasp. Faint (beautifully). Dead sleep. Cold glass coffin. Empty dreams. Then ... kiss. Wake. Prince! Cheering dwarves. Huge choreographed dance number. Happily Ever After. ~ Shannon Hale

She was born Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, and she did not open her eyes for three days. ~ Shannon Hale

Loan me your lace of yellow, sister
Lend me your fine kid gloves
Tonight is the bridal ball, sister
Tonight I'll meet my love
Present me a sash of blue, sister
Gift me a ribbon of white
My love awaits me below, sister
I am a bride tonight ~ Shannon Hale

I couldn't remember the last time I had stayed up into the squeaky hours of the night because I couldn't put a book down, and that was a tragedy. ~ Shannon Hale

They weren't nice words he said. He could've lived a good life and died never having made a person feel rubbed down to bones and too sad to hold together. ~ Shannon Hale

Jane caught sight of a very striking Colonel Andrews who, now that she watched him dance, might just be gay. ~ Shannon Hale

You don't have to decide anything now. If you will allow me to be near you for a time, then we can see." He rested his head back, and they looked at each other, their faces inches apart. He always was so good at looking at her. And it occurred to her just then that she herself was more Darcy than Erstwhile, sitting there admiring his fine eyes, feeling dangerously close to falling in love against her will.
"Just be near…" she repeated.
He nodded. "And if I don't make you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world every day of your life, then I don't deserve to be near you."
Jane breathed in, taking those words inside her. She thought she might like to keep them for a while. She considered never giving them up.
"Okay, I lied a little bit." He rubbed his head with even more force. "I need to admit up front that I don't know how to have a fling. I'm not good at playing around and then saying good-bye. I'm throwing myself at your feet because I'm hoping for a shot at forever. You don't have to say anything now, no promises required. I just thought you should know."
He forced himself to lean back again, his face turned slightly away, as if he didn't care to see her expression just then. It was probably for the best. She was staring straight ahead with wide, panicked eyes, then a grin slowly took over her face. In her mind was running the conversation she was going to have with Molly. "I didn't think it was possible, but I found a man as crazy intense ~ Shannon Hale

The east says it's dawn
My mouth speaks a yawn
My bed clings to me and begs me to stay
I hear a work song
Say winter is long
I peel myself up and then make away ~ Shannon Hale

Sometimes instinct isn't fancy. ~ Shannon Hale

Life is short, so live extra lives. Read books. ~ Shannon Hale

But man, can she snore," Cedar smiled wistfully, "Do you think when I become a real girl I'll be able to snore, too? ~ Shannon Hale

Daring Charming was facing her down. "It's no use, Cerise Hood," said Daring. "I am a Charming - brave, cunning, athletic - " Cerise faked left and dribbled right around him, driving toward the royals' end of the court. ~ Shannon Hale

Hope had been beaten to death. She dried her eyes, shut down her heart, and plunged herself into an emotional coma. So much easier not to feel. ~ Shannon Hale

Besides being witty and funny and maybe the best novel ever written, it's also the most perfect romance in all of literature and nothing in life can ever measure up, so I spend my life limping in its shadow. ~ Shannon Hale

Finn, do you see the lias - whatever, the orange-haired girl?" Razo Gestured ahead. "Do you think she's pretty?"
Finn glanced Dasha's way, then returned his attention ot his horse. "She's all right."
"Really? Just all right?"
Finn shrugged.
Razo rolled his eyes. "What am I saying? He doesn't think any girl is pretty but Enna."
"Are there any girls but Enna?" Finn called back.
"There'd better be. ~ Shannon Hale

I'm sorry Finn. I'm a wooden-headed dummy.'
Don't be so hard on yourself,' said Finn. 'You're just a straw-brained scarecrow. ~ Shannon Hale

Hunter, Lizzie's not even on our team!" Raven shouted after him. "Aw, he's a big sweetie pie," said Maddie. "A big, sugary banana slice of pie, cutie-sweetie Hunter." A wolf ate Maddie's basket in one toothy bite. Maddie giggled. Ashlynn was on her hands and knees, talking to a wolf. He howled back, nodding and rolling his eyes as if complaining about something in wolf language. She took a pastry from her basket and fed it to him on her palm. ~ Shannon Hale

Ani told them all ... telling more than needed telling, the stories clarifying and unifying themselves in her mind as she let them spill out of her mouth. ~ Shannon Hale

If you're listening Big Brother, I refuse to be Fanny Price. ~ Shannon Hale

The to Cathal was battered and only one wagon wide, with swells of hard earth where mud had frozen during cold ad rainy seasons. Enna tripped often, and cursed each time she tripped, until Dasha said, "Enna, you might watch your language."
Enna grimaced. "I was. You should hear my thoughts. ~ Shannon Hale

There's nothing more aggravating in the world than the midnight sniffling of the person you've decided to hate. ~ Shannon Hale

Personally, I believe "Young Adult" to be an arbitrary title that means the book "Can be enjoyed by anyone/Has a main character who's not quite an adult/Isn't really boring. ~ Shannon Hale

But wait, stop, it's not supposed to end this way! You're the fantasy, you're what I'm leaving behind. I can't pack you up and take you with me."
"That was the most self-centered thing I've ever heard you say."
Jane blinked. "It was?"
"Miss Hayes, have you stopped to consider that you might have this all backward? That in fact you are my fantasy?"
The jet engines began to whir, the pressure of the cabin stuck invisible fingers into her ears. Henry gripped his armrest and stared ahead as though trying to steady the machine by force of will. Jane laughed at him and settled into her seat. It was a long flight. There would be time to get more answers, and she thought she could wait. Then in that moment when the plane rushed forward as though for its life, and gravity pushed down, and the plane lifted up, and Jane was breathless inside those two forces, she needed to know now.
"Henry, tell me which parts were true."
"All of it. Especially this part where I'm going to die…" His knuckles were literally turning white as he held tighter to the armrests, his eyes staring straight ahead.
The light gushing through the window was just right, afternoon coming at them with the perfect slant, the sun grazing the horizon of her window, yellow light spilling in. She saw Henry clearly, noticed a chicken pox scar on his forehead, read in the turn down of his upper lip how he must have looked as a pouty little boy and in the faint lines tracing away from the cor ~ Shannon Hale

Yes, we'll yell, 'Help, help us, goose girl, and bring the terrifying legion of warrior geese'. ~ Shannon Hale