Stepsister Quotes

“The wolves in the woods have sharp teeth and long claws, but it's the wolf inside who will tear you apart.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“History books say that kings and dukes and generals start wars. Don't believe it. We start them, you and I. Every time we turn away, keep quiet, stay out of it, behave ourselves.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Here are the things girls die of: hunger, disease, accidents, childbirth, and violence. It takes more than heartache to kill a girl. Girls are tough as rocks.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“They were not pretty, these women. Pretty did not begin to describe them.
They were shrewd. Powerful. Wily. Proud. Dangerous.
They were strong.
There were brave.
They were beautiful.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Every war is different, yet each battle is the same. The enemy is only a distraction. The thing you are fighting against, always, is yourself.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Fairy tales give it to us straight. They tell us something profound and essential - that the woods are real, and dark, and full of wolves. That we will, at times, find ourselves hopelessly lost in them. But these tales also tell us that we are all that we need, that we have all we need - guts, smarts, and maybe a pocketful of breadcrumbs - to find our way home.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“This is a dark tale. A grim tale.
It's a tale from another time, a time when wolves waited for girls in the forest, beasts paced the halls of cursed castles, and witches lurked in gingerbread houses with sugar-kissed roofs.
That time is long gone.
But the wolves are still here and twice as clever. The beasts remain. And death still hides in a dusting of white.
It's grim for any girl who loses her way.
Grimmer still for a girl her loses herself.
Know that it's dangerous to stray from the path.
But it's far more dangerous not to.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Believe that you can make your way. Or don't. Either way, you are right.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Mortals aren't born strong, they become strong.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Can't you see that the courage to risk, to dare, to toss that gold coin up in the air over and over again, win or lose, is what makes humans human? They are fragile, doomed creatures, blinder than worms yet braver than the gods.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“I need a name for this ink ... A name for the feeling you get when you see someone again. After many years. Someone lost to you. Or so you thought. And you remember them a certain way. In your mind, they never age. But then suddenly, there they are. Older. Changed by time. Different, but exactly the same.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“What's done is done. Whether to you, or by you, and you cannot change it.
But what's not done is not done.
And there, both hope and hazard lie.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Fate was cruel to play this trick on her, although if she were honest she knew she only had herself to blame. She had taken the chance and now she had to pay the price.”
― Emily Arden

“Once upon always and never again, in an ancient city by the sea, three sisters worked by candlelight.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“At the edge of Saint-Michel is the Wildwood. The wolves who live there come out at night. They prowl fields and farms, hungry for hens and tender young lambs. But there is another sort of wolf, one that's far more treacherous. This is the wolf the old ones speak of.

"Run if you see him," they tell their granddaughters. "His tongue is silver, but his teeth are sharp. If he gets hold of you, he'll eat you alive."

Most of the village girls do what they're told, but occasionally one does not. She stands her ground, looks the wolf in the eye, and falls in love with him.

People see her run to the woods at night. They see her the next morning with leaves in her hair and blood on her lips. This is not proper, they say. A girl should not love a wolf.

So they decide to intervene. They come after the wolf with guns and swords. They hunt him down in the Wildwood. But the girl is with him and sees them coming.

The people raise their rifles and take aim. The girl opens her mouth to scream, and as she does, the wolf jumps inside it. Quickly the girl swallows him whole, teeth and claws and fur. He curls up under her heart.

The villagers lower their weapons and go home. The girl heaves a sigh of relief. She believes this arrangement will work. She thinks she can be satisfied with memories of the wolf’s golden eyes. She thinks the wolf will be happy with a warm place to sleep.

But the girl soon realized she’s made a terrible mistake, for the wolf is a wild thing and wild things cannot be caged. He wants to get out, but the girl is all darkness inside and he cannot find his way.

So he howls in her blood. He tears at her heart.

The howling and gnawing –it drives the girl mad.

She tries to cut him out, slicing lines in her flesh with a razor.

She tries to burn him out, holding a candle flame to her skin.

She tries to starve him out, refusing to eat until she’s nothing but skin over bones.

Before long, the grave takes them both.

A wolf lives in Isabelle. She tries hard to keep him down, but his hunger grows. He cracks her spine and devours her heart.

Run home. Slam the door. Throw the bolt. It won’t help.

The wolves in the woods have sharp teeth and long claws, but it’s the wolf inside who will tear you apart.”
― Jennifer Donnelly

“He felt torn. He wanted her to feel safe with him, but he also wanted her to feel the sort of heady excitement that any young girl should feel when they fall in love. He wanted to give her everything she craved, and he was not quite sure he could do it.”
― Emily Arden

“You may not mean to, but you do seem to look down your nose at many of us mere mortals muddling along down here. I feel as though you think everyone should be better than they are. I certainly think you expect me to behave like some sort of perfect princess. But I’m just an ordinary girl who wants to grow up and find out where I belong in the world.”
― Emily Arden, Lover by Moonlight

“Roberto reached out to gently stroke a finger down her cheek. “You were like a miracle to me – how could I help loving you and wanting to protect you? I only want the best for you Rosa.”
― Emily Arden, Lover by Moonlight

“His muscles flexed as he stood, and Rosa couldn’t prevent herself from watching with veiled admiration. He was certainly a very beautiful man. She looked away in embarrassment, worried she might say or do something inappropriate.”
― Emily Arden, Lover by Moonlight

“You’re the worst girl I’ve ever met Isabelle,” Hugo added, with touching sincerity. “ You’re so tough and stubborn, you give me nightmares.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“There really is magic in this sad, cruel world. A magic stronger than fate, stronger than luck. And one finds it in the most unexpected places"
~Isabelle, Poisoned”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Stepsister

“Roberto knew that he now had the power to influence the future. He needed to send a message back, and whatever he chose to say would affect Rosa and would help to guide her future choices. He felt a strong sense of guilt and responsibility about the situation in which he found himself, but he knew that he had to make it work. Somehow he needed to find a way to do the best that he could by his Rosa.”
― Emily Arden, Lover by Moonlight

“How could she admit that it wasn’t the cold that had made her shiver, but forbidden thoughts of her stepbrother?”
― Emily Arden, Lover by Moonlight

“If he spoke, he knew that he would break the spell. As soon as she knew her Romeo wasn’t coming she would be disappointed. She would doubtless be angry with him, perhaps even sense that it was somehow his fault.
But at this moment she was happy and breathless with anticipation. Tonight was her night and she wanted to be loved.”
― emily arden, Lover by Moonlight

“He looked at her and could see she was trembling, her face even paler than usual and her eyes wide and vulnerable. His heart went out to her and he reached towards her, gathering her much smaller hand into his.
“It’s OK Rosa. Whatever you have to say to me, it’s OK. Don’t be afraid – nothing will come between us now.”
― Emily Arden, Lover by Moonlight

“Another tear appeared and then another, trailing silently down her cheeks. This was so much harder than she’d thought it would be. She was usually so articulate, yet at the moment her brain seemed to have turned to mush.
He turned his head to kiss the tears from her cheek, and it was as though his act of tenderness finally unleashed the truth that was struggling to emerge.”
― Emily Arden, Lover by Moonlight