I'm afraid that whatever I touch is spoilt by the contact." "I'm not scared of being spoiled," Val said.
Holly BlackSomeone could cut through the mess in our house and look at it like one might look at rings on a tree or layers of sediment. They'd find the black-and-white hairs of a dog we had when I was six, the acid-washed jeans my mother once wore, the seven blood-soaked pillowcases from the time I skinned my knee. All our family secrets rest in endless piles.
Holly BlackI'm not good at having friends. I mean, I can make myself useful to people. I can fit in. I get invited to parties and I can sit at any table I want in the cafeteria. But actually trusting someone when they have nothing to gain from me just doesn't make sense. All friendships are negotiations of power.
Holly BlackLibrarians are hot. They have knowledge and power over their domain...It is no coincidence how many librarians are portrayed as having a passionate interior, hidden by a cool layer of reserve. Aren't books like that? On the shelf, their calm covers belie the intense experience of reading one. Reading inflames the soul. Now, what sort of person would be the keeper of such books?
Holly BlackKaye: You know what the sun looks like? Janet: No, What? Kaye: Like he slit his wrists in a bathtub and the blood is all over the water. Janet: That's gross, Kaye. Kaye: And the moon is just watching. She's just watching him die. She must have driven him to it.
Holly BlackYou got a lot of ladies to get through. Youโre still young. First loveโs the sweetest, but it doesnโt last.โ โNot ever?โ I ask. Grandad looks at me with a seriousness he reserves for moments when he wants me to really pay attention. โWhen we fall that first time, weโre not really in love with the girl. Weโre in love with being in love. Weโve got no idea what sheโs really aboutโor what sheโs capable of. Weโre in love with our idea of her and of who we become around her. Weโre idiots.
Holly Black