“ We sat and drank in silence. It was something I appreciated about Jesse. He didn't feel the need to fill every moment with talk or some sort of silly exchange. Ruta Sepetys
“ I became good at pretending. I became so good that after a while the lines blurred between my truth and fiction. And sometimes, when I did a really good job of pretending, I even fooled myself. Ruta Sepetys
“ Mother was comfort. Mother was home. A girl who lost her mother was suddenly a tiny boat on an angry ocean. Some boats eventually floated ashore. And some boats, like me, seemed to float farther and f… Ruta Sepetys
“ But wasn't there some sort of rule that said parents had to be smarter than their kids? It didn't seem fair. Ruta Sepetys
“ War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost. Ruta Sepetys
“ Mother was anchor. Mother was comfort. Mother was home. A girl who lost her mother was suddenly a tiny boat on an angry ocean. Some boats eventually floated ashore. And some boats, like me, seemed to… Ruta Sepetys
“ What if this is a horrible mistake?" I croaked. "Oh, it'll be horrible fine, just a bunch of pretentious rich people with shelves of expensive books they've never read. Ruta Sepetys
“ Jo, they have a baby grand piano, but no one in the family plays. They have shelves of books they've never read, and the tension between the couples was so thick it nearly choked us.""Let me tell you… Ruta Sepetys
“ I don't want to see no dead body. Willie ain't in there. She put her walkin' shoes on. She gone to see the Lord. Ruta Sepetys
“ But all of the survivors had one thing in common, and that was love. They survived through love. Whether love of friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy—love reveals to us the trul… Ruta Sepetys
“ What determines how we remember history and which elements are preserved and penetrate the collective consciousness? If historical novels stir your interest, pursue the facts, history, memories, and p… Ruta Sepetys
“ He threw his burning cigarette onto our clean living room floor and ground it into the wood with his boot.We were about to become cigarettes. Ruta Sepetys
“ And she didn't judge nobody. She loved everyone equal- accountants, queers, musicians, she welcomed us all, said we were all idiots just the same. Ruta Sepetys
“ He wrapped his arms around me and planted a kiss straight on my lips, hard and long. It felt like I was watching the kiss instead of being inside of it. Ruta Sepetys
