Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Divergent series)

Notes from the reader: replace the concept of "factions" from the book with any label you may have put on yourself to help find like-minded people to fully understand what the author is saying. We all have our factions, even if they're chosen rather than forced upon us. (E.g.: nerd, jock... stoner?)

--13--

"From one tyrant to another. That is the world we know now."

--13--

'"I brought you the truth about our city and the reason we are in it. If you aren't thanking me for it, you should at least do something about it instead of sitting here on this mess you made, pretending it's a throne!"'

--67--

"I have never had parents who set good examples, parents whose expectations were worth living up to, but she did. I can see them within her, the courage and the beauty they pressed into her like a handprint."

--71--

"What do I need, to overcome my fears? 

I know the answer, of course I do: I need to deny them the power to control me. I need to know that I am stronger than they are."

--91--

"I wonder if that fear still creeps up on her now, though she worked so hard to face it--I wonder if fears ever really go away or if they just lose their power over us."

--95--

"Tobias can take care of himself, but in an attack, surviving is an accident. It doesn't take skill to stand in a place where no bullets find you, or to fire into the dark and hit a man you didn't see. It is all luck, or providence, depending on what you believe."

--125--

"They created us, they shaped our world, they told us what to believe.

If they told us what to believe and we didn't come to it on our own, is it still true?"

--134--

"I needed that word to tell me who I was when everything else was coming apart around me. But now I'm wondering if I need it anymore, if we ever really need these words, "Dauntless," "Erudite," "Divergent," "Allegiant," or if we can just be friends or lovers or siblings, defined instead by the choices we make and the love and loyalty that binds us."

--192--

"Or maybe we'll make a home somewhere inside ourselves, to carry with us wherever we go--which is the way I carry my mother now."

--219--

'"It's a little rudimentary, but this book helped to teach me what it is to be human. . . To be such a complicated, mysterious piece of biological machinery, and more amazing still, to have the capacity to analyze that machinery! That is a special thing, unprecedented in all of evolutionary history. Our ability to know about ourselves and the world is what makes us human."'

--262--

"I was so used to lying instead of telling difficult truths that I welcomed the chance to deceive her."

--271--

'"I never said this was all I was ever going to do. It's not always wise to strike as hard as you can at the first opportunity. This is a long race, not a sprint."'

--276--

'"I was beginning to feel that I had finally found a place to stay, a place that was not so unstable or corrupt or controlling that I could actually belong there. You would think that I would have learned by now--such a place does not exist."'

--278--

"I sit on top of the sweater and examine my knuckles. A few of them are split from punching Caleb, and dotted with faint bruises. It seems fitting that the blow would leave a mark on both of us. That's how the world works."

--315--

"My father has a way of persuading people without charm that has always confused me. He states his opinions as if they're facts, and somehow his complete lack of doubt makes you believe him."

--316--

"It seems like the rebellions never stop, in the city, in the compound, anywhere. There are just breaths between them, and foolishly, we call those breaths "peace."'

--345-6--

"Evelyn tried to control  people by controlling weapons, but Jeanine was more ambitious--she knew that when you control information, or manipulate it, you don't need force to keep people under your thumb. They stay there willingly."

--371--

'"If we stay together, I'll have to forgive you over and over again, and if you're still in this, you'll have to forgive me over and over again too. . . So forgiveness isn't the point. What I really should have been trying to figure out is whether we were still good for each other or not."'

--371-2--

"Then I thought of how strong I have become, how secure I feel with the person I now am, and how all along the way he has told me that I am brave, I am respected, I am loved and worth loving."

--372--

"I used to think that when people fell in love, they just landed where they landed, and they had no choice in the matter afterward. And maybe that's true of beginnings, but it's not true of this, now.

I fell in love with him. But I don't stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me."

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Notes from the reader: replace the concept of "factions" from the book with any label you may have put on yourself to help find like-minded people to fully understand what the author is saying. We all have our factions, even if they're chosen rather than forced upon us. (E.g.: nerd, jock... stoner?)

--110--

"No factions? A world in which no one knows who they are or where they fit? I can't even fathom it. I imagine only chaos and isolation."

--155--

"The Candor sing the praises of the truth, but they never tell you how much it costs."

--157--

"I wonder how long Al stood at the ledge before he pitched himself over it, into the Dauntless pit.

He must have stood there for a long time, making a list of all the terrible things he had done--almost killing me was one of those things--and another list of all the good, heroic, brave things he had not done, and then decided that he was tired. Tired, not just of living, but of existing. Tired of being Al."

--168--

"I think it would be easier to fight in a dress. It would give your legs freer movement. And who really cares if you flash people your underwear, as long as you're kicking the crap out of them?"

--203--

"I can't even think of a word strong enough to describe him. Apparently I need to expand my vocabulary."

--283--

"By the time the fight dies down, my clothes are more paint-colored than black. I decide to keep the shirt to remind me why I chose Dauntless in the first place: not because they are perfect, but because they are alive. Because they are free."

--289--

"I try to think of something helpful to say. I'm not going to die--but I don't know that. We live in a dangerous world, and  am not so attached to life that I will do anything to survive. I can't reassure him."

--329--

"I used to think that cruelty required malice, but that is not true. Jeanine has no reason to act out of malice. But she is cruel because she doesn't care what she does, as long as it fascinates her. I may as well be a puzzle or a broken machine she wants to fix. She will break open my skull just to see the inner workings of my brain; I will die here, and that wil be the merciful thing."

--331-2--

"I am like Jeanine. And I can either despise it, attack it, eradicate it. . . or I can use it."

--332--

"When I was young, I thought that was like heaven would be like, all white light and nothing else. Now I know that can't be true, because white light is menacing."

--377--

"I knew by the way he looked at her that he held her in a higher regard than he held even himself. No selfishness or insecurity kept him from seeing the full extent of her goodness, as it so often does with the rest of us."

--?--

"Grief is not as heavy as guilt, but it takes more away from you."

--410--

"I feel, as I look at him, that I am finally seeing him as he is, instead of how he is in relation to me. So how well do I really know him, if I have not seen this before?"

--418--

""And while he has done cruel, evil things, our society is not divided into "good" and "Bad." Cruelty does not make a person dishonest, the same way bravery does not make a person kind. Marcus is not good or bad, but both."

--510--

"People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them."

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Notes from the reader: replace the concept of "factions" from the book with any label you may have put on yourself to help find like-minded people to fully understand what the author is saying. We all have our factions, even if they're chosen rather than forced upon us. (E.g.: nerd, jock... stoner?)

--43--

"In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life. . . More than family, our factions are where we belong. . . Apart from them, we would not survive."

--45--

"His absence will haunt their hallways, and he will be a space they can't fill. And then time will pass, and the hole will be gone, like when an organ is removed and the body's fluids flow into the space it leaves. Humans can't tolerate emptiness for long."

--57--

"I am proud. It will get me into trouble someday, but today it makes me brave."

--60--

"A new place, a new name. I can be remade here."

--69--

"He stares at me, and I don't look away. He isn't a dog, but the same rules apply. Looking away is submissive. Looking him in the eye is a challenge. It's my choice."

--75--

"Maybe my problem isn't that I can't go home. I will miss my mother and father and Caleb and evening firelight and he clack of my mother's knitting needles, but that is not the onlu reason for this hollow feeling in my stomach.

My problem might be that even if I did go home, I wouldn't belong there."

--79--

"I lower the gun. There is power in controlling something that can do so much damage--in controlling something, period."

--81--

"Those who seek peace above all else, they say, will always deceive to keep the water calm."

--87--

"It will be difficult to break the habits of thinking Abnegation instilled in me, like tugging a single thread from a complex work of embroidery. But I will find new habits, new thoughts, new rules. I will become something else."

--94--

"I like to think I'm helping them by hating them. . . I'm reminding them that they aren't God's gift to humankind."

--97--

"Leaving us with Eric is like hiring a babysitter who spends his free time sharpening his knives."

--117--

"I clench my teeth as the tears come. I am fed up. I am fed up with tears and weakness. But there isn't much I can do to stop them."

--128--

"Besides, Robert. The goal of my life isn't just. . . to be happy."

"Wouldn't it be easier if it was though?"

--176--

"If Eric thinks I did something right, I must have done it wrong."

--205--

"Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing just feels better right now."

--219--

"Still, there is a part of me that groans, I have to wait for seven people? It is a strange blend of terror and eageress, unfamiliar until now."

--221--

"My heart beats so hard it hurts, and I can't scream and I can't breathe, but I also feel everything, every vein and every fiber, every bone and every nerve, all awake and buzzing in my body as if chared with electricity. I am pure adrenaline."

--239--

'"So they don't go away?"

"Sometimes they do. And sometimes new fears replace them. . . But becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to be free from it, that's the point."

I nod. I used to think the Dauntless were fearless. That is how they seemed, anyway. But maybe what I saw as fearless was actually fear under control.'

--294--

"But my mother would tell me that people are flawed and I should be lenient with them."

--299-300--

"Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person. Somewhere there is a girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that pepole do evil things and that desperation leads them to darker places than they ever imagined. I swear she exists, and she hurts for the repentant boy I see in front of me.

But if I saw her, I wouldn't recognize her."

--311--

"I fear his shifting moods. They show me somehing unstable inside of him, and instability is dangerous."

--312--

"Intentions are the only thing they care about. They try to make you think they care about what you do, but they don't. They don't want you to act a certain way. They want you to think a certain way. So you're easy to understand. So you won't pose a threat to them."

--313-4--

"Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up. I've seen it. It's fascinating. . . Sometimes I just. . . want to see it again. Want to see you awake."

--336--

"I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different. All your life you've been training to forget yourself, so when you're in danger, it becomes your first instinct."

--441-2--

"Every faction conditions its members to think and act a certain way. And most people do it. For most people, it's not hard to learn, to find a pattern of thought that works and stay that way. . . But our minds move in a dozen different directions. We can't be confined to one way of thinking and that terrifies our leaders. It means we can't be controlled. And it means that no matter what they do, we will always cause trouble for them."

--484--

"The cruelty of fate is that I must travel with the people I hate when the people I love are dead behind me."

The Flash (TV)

S2E1

Iris- "Well if you keep getting no for an answer, stop asking questions."

S2E5

Dr. Wells #2- "Everyone loses someone they care about, Snow. The real test of 
character is what you do once they're gone."

S2E8

Thea- "Why don't you get a haircut and then maybe we can talk about it?"

Cisco- "I think you're just mad because my conditioner game is on point."


S2E22

Barry- "We're supposed to think we're something we're not until we become that thing. That's the path that Wally's on. I'm not gonna stop him from being the hero that he's gonna become." 

UnWholly By Neal Shusterman (Unwind Series)

Note about the author: Neal Shusterman is a critically acclaimed author whose book "Unwind" is now commonly taught in schools. Although it is categorized as Young Adult fiction due to the writing style, I would suggest people of all ages read it. It is a blatant satire that does not even try to hide its alignments with our society (no worrying about the meaning behind the blue curtains, if you catch my drift). 

***UnWholly***

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

  

"We should call you the little mermaid. . . because they let you magically walk, in exchange for your voice."

  

"As for Pastor Dan, he's a hero to Lev for having the courage to lose his convictions without losing his faith."

  

"'So what religion are we?" . . . 

The question has become a running joke, and each time Pastor Dan has another answer.

"We're Pentupcostal because we're sick of all the hypocrisy."
"We're Clueish, because we finally got a clue."

"We're PresbyPterodactyl, because we're making this whole thing fly against all reason."'

  

"It made him feel both terribly uncomfortable and also a little bit blessed to be at the core of a spiritual movement, even if it was only a movement of two."

  

"I'm too old to rage against the system. I just whine at it."

  

'"Do you have any idea what you've put this family through? The shame? The ridicule?"

"Then maybe you shouldn't surround yourself with people as judgmental as you."

  

"How do you judge the brightness of a light when you're the source? A spotlight can never see the shadows it casts."

  

"'They call it 'deprogramming,' which is a polite term for undoing brainwashing with more brainwashing."

  

"There's a powerful surge against her soul, as relentless as the waves crashing below, reminding her that in time the strongest of mountains is eroded into the sea, and she doesn't know how much longer she can resist it, or even if she should."

  

"We'll talk again when you're over yourself."

  

"Stop apologizing for everything. Save it for your more important screwups." 

Darkest Powers Series by Kelley Armstrong

***The Summoning***

“In real life, though, people don’t change overnight.”

“Anyone ever tell you your sense of timing really sucks?”

“That’s why I don’t play the drums.”

***The Awakening***

"In a good drama, the protagonist never takes the straight line to the prize. She must set out, hit an obstacle, detour around it, hit another, take a longer detour, another obstacle, another detour. . . . Only when she has built up the strength of character to deserve the prize does she finally succeed."

"No. Harsh truth was better than comfortable lies. It had to be."

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (Gemma Doyle Trilogy- pt 2)

“Deep inside each one, a thin blue soul burns pure and hot, devouring every bit of tinder to keep the fire going.”

“They’ve planned our entire lives, from what we shall wear to whom we shall marry and where we shall live. It’s one lump of sugar in your tea whether you like it or not and you’d best smile even if you’re dying deep inside. We’re like pretty horses, and just as on horses, they mean to put blinders on us so we can’t look left or right but only straight ahead where they would lead.”

“They believe and belief changes everything.”

“Hours feel like seconds; seconds are hours, for time is a dream.”

“We create illusions we need to go on. And one day, when they no longer dazzle or comfort, we tear them down, brick by glittering brick, until we are left with nothing but the bright light of honesty. The light is liberating. Necessary. Terrifying. We stand naked and emptied before it. And when it is too much for our eyes to take, we build a new illusion to shield us from its relentless truth.” Fav

“Why should we girls not have the same privileges as men? Why do we police ourselves so stringently—whittling each other down with cutting remarks or holding ourselves back from greatness with a harness woven of fear and shame and longing? If we do not deem ourselves worthy first, how shall we ever ask for more? 

Night World Series (pt 1) by L.J. Smith

***Secret Vampire***

“Poppy was brave, but facing constant pain would crush anyone.”
  
“You don’t love a girl because of beauty. You love her because she sings a song only you can understand…” 
  
“It’s a lonely world, full of secrets.” 

“It didn’t matter that she wasn’t really dying. When a caterpillar changes into a butterfly it loses its caterpillar life. No more shimmying up twigs, no more eating leaves.”

“You don’t love somebody because of their looks or their clothes or their car. You love them because they sing a song that nobody but you can understand.”

***Dark Angel***

“Reality was just one desperate, choking attempt to get enough air for the next breath.”

“Not necessarily bad. Just so powerful and so different that it was scary. Good can be scary too.” 

“All her realizations about life being important were nonsense. Life was a giant hoax. She couldn’t change herself and live in a completely new direction. There was no new start. No hope.”

Night World (pt 4) by L.J. Smith

***Witchlight***

“It felt good. It always did. Painful in a nice way, like the feeling of having a tight bandage removed. A release.”

“For a moment, she didn’t feel like anything—she almost had no body. She was fluid, a being of pure energy, with no more fixed form than a candle flame. She was utterly….free.” 

“Keller couldn’t understand what was happening at first. In panic, all she could think was that she was losing herself. Losing her armor, her hardness, everything she needed to keep alive.”

“This was the problem with having walls so hard and high and unscalable, she supposed. When they came down, they crumbled completely, shattering into nothingness. She felt utterly defenseless right now.”


“People die… Beauty fades… Love changes… And you will always be alone.”

“People die…so love them every day.

Beauty fades…so look before it’s gone.

Love changes…but not the love you give.

And if you love, you’ll never be alone.”

Maximum Ride Series (pt 1) by James Patterson

***The Angel Experiment***

“Life is a test. It’s all a test. Sometimes you have to get through it, and then later everything makes more sense.”

“Because what’s worse than knowing you want something, besides knowing you can never have it?”

“Every journey begins with one step.”

“You never know until you know.”

“Never fight fair—that’s not how you win. Use every dirty trick you can. Expect pain. Expect to get hurt. If you’re surprised by the pain, you just lost.” Fav

“Knowledge is a terrible burden. It’s a two-edged sword. It might help you, but it might put you in danger greater than anything you’ve faced so far.” Fav

  “A web of answers is out there. If you can find the portal.” Fav

***School's Out Forever***

“You are a fridge with wings. We’re freaking ballet dancers.”

“You have to respect your enemy. Never, ever underestimate them. The second you do, they’ll squash you. Be smart about them. Respect their abilities, even if they don’t respect yours.”

“You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you have a stronger motive for me than ‘fair is fair’. Life isn’t fair. Nothing is fair, ever. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Maximum Ride Series (pt 2) by James Patterson

***Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports***

“Sometimes all you have is instinct, a gut feeling. It’s important to pay attention to them.”

“We all make choices. We all have to live with them.”

“Pain is merely a message, and you can ignore a message.”

***The Final Warning***

“I don’t forgive that easy. And I never, ever forget.”

“Sometimes when you’re at your most certain, that’s when everything you know is wrong.”

“Cruelty, thy name is woman!”

“Life, like that first burst of color at dawn, is fleeting.”

Poison by Chris Wooding

“Don’t confuse contentment with happiness, Poison. Besides, some of us are born in the right place and some of us have to go look for it.”

“People don’t know how to react if you don’t do what they expect. It doesn’t matter what you are, it’s how you appear.” Fav

“Yet she found that it was not so much the thought of her baby sister that kept her going, but something else—a sense of something started that she had not finished. She had to keep going forward because it was the only way left.”

“Cynicism was a one-way path, and once taken the way back was lost forever.” Fav