Pick the "right passage" from your book to show the "rite of passage"

[Lynne]

Here is the place to post your quote from page 46 (or wherever). It could show your characters "coming of age" (rite of passage) or just well represent the book. Happy quoting!

[Sarah]

I guess I get to start the quotes this month.
from p 46 of The Neverending Story:

The third day, he saw the Glass Tower of Eribo, where the inhabitants of the region caught and stored starlight. Out of the starlight they made wonderfully decorative objects, the purpose of which, however, was known to no one in all Fantastica but their makers.

[Lynne]

Here is a quote from page 221 of Fire by Kristin Cashore. I chose this quote because I think it truly represents the moment when the main character "comes of age":

...her eyes caught a flash of something on Brigan's hip. It was the hilt of his sword. The sword of the commander of the King's Army. And all at once, Fire understood. Brigan did terrible things. He stuck swords into men in the mountains. He trained soldiers for war. He had enormous destructive power, just as his father had had- but he didn't use that power the way his father had done. Truly, he would rather not use it at all. But he chose to, so that he might stop others from using power in even worse ways. His power was his burden. He accepted it. And he was nothing like his father. Neither were Garan and Clara;neither, really, was Nash. Not all sons were like their fathers. A son chose the man he would be. Not all daughters were like their fathers. A daughter monster chose the monster she would be.

[Luann]

Lynne wrote: "Here is a quote from page 221 of Fire..."

I loved that book, Lynne.

[Susan]

From The House of the Scorpion:

Matt closed his eyes. He would like to lock up Rosa and the doctor. He would fee them wormy oranges and sour milk. They would beg him to let them go, but he wouldn't, not ever.

[Susan]

From After Tupac and D Foster:
"I guess that's why you just gotta learn yourself," D said, watching the little girls. "Can't nobody really teach you double Dutch."

"Nobody ever tried to teach us, Neeka said. "When I was little, the teenagers were like , No! Remember?"

I nodded. "They were so not having us."

[Luann]

From pages 41-42 of The Cardturner: A Novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar.

This book is narrated by Alton, a teen who works one summer as a cardturner for his Uncle Lester Trapp. "Trapp" is blind, thus the need for a cardturner as he competes in bridge tournaments. (I thought a little explanation was necessary for the quote to make sense.)

"In all, we came in first three times and finished third once. I saw 'we' because I began to think of myself as part of the team. I imagined I was like Tiger Woods's caddy. I had once heard Tiger Woods on TV saying how important his caddy was to him, how he wouldn't have won some golf tournament without him. Trapp never actually said anything like that about me, but he wasn't big on compliments. One time I heard him say 'Nicely played' to an opponent. That was it."

[Tien]

Page 109 of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

"...Mr. Wodehouse is a prose stylist of such startling talent that Frankie nearly skipped around with glee when she first read some of his phrases. Until her discovery of Something Fresh on the top shelf of Ruth's bookshelf one bored summer morning, Frankie's leisure reading had consister primarily of paperback mysteries she found on the spinning racks at the public library down the block from her house, and the short stories of Dorothy Parker. Wodehouse's jubilant wordplay bore itself into her synapses like a worm into a fresh ear of corn."

I especially loved the last sentence!

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

From page 45 - 46 of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender.

"Due to his role as moneymaker, my father was excused from doing the dishes, and Joseph was so overly meticulous with dish-doing that is was easier if he was off in his room, so it was my mother and me in front of the soapy sink: her washing, me drying. I zipped through the silverware using my new worn rose dish towel from Grandma. Mom seemed in good spirits, squeezing my shoulder, asking me a series of fast questions about school, but the aftertaste of the spiraled craving chicken was still in my mouth and I was having trouble trusting her cheer, a split of information I could hardly hold in my head. "

[Dee]

from Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War:

It wasn't fair. He'd seen Marines on television with squeeze bottles of repellent strapped to their helmet. He'd carefuly noted the details. Suddenly it dawned on him that the telvision shots were all around villeages, where people with cameras were more likely to be be, and there was no wall of dark green jungle on all sides.

[Susan]

from The Road from Coorain

In quiet moments, when he had caught up with the supply of wool and had time to sit down, we exchanged confidences. On some Mondays, he would confess to having too much to drink over the weekend. Once, deeply troubled and exasperated with himself, he talked of going to see "the girls." I knew in a general way that this was not the best conduct for a married man, so I tut-tutted with as much wisdom as I could summon up and said once didn't matter. It seemed to offer him some relief.

[Susan]

from I am Number Four

I look at him. His eyes are red, even more bloodshot than they were when he dropped me off. His hair is tousled and he has a slumped look as though he may collapse in exhaustion at any moment. He last slept in Florida two days ago. I'm not sure how he is even still standing.

[Susan]

from Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

The truth was that Henry had been beaten up by Chaz Preston on that first day of school. But his parents wanted him there so much that not being appreciative would have been a terrible insult. So Henry made up some excuse, speaking his American . Of course, his parents didn't understand -- imploring him to be more careful next time . Henry did his best to respect and honor his parents. He walked to school each day, going upstream against a sea of Chinese kids who called him "white devil." He worked in the school kitchen as white devils called him "yellow." But that was okay. I'll do what I have to, Henry thought. But along the way, I think I'm tired of being careful

[LynnB]

from Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

"...All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naive. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer..."

[Susan]

from Will Grayson Will Grayson

from p. 46:
And then it's over, and out of my peripheral vision I see everyone leaving, but I stay put. In the past half hour, I've collected a mental list of approximately 412 ways I might kill Tiny Cooper, and I'm not going to leave until I've settled on just the right one.

from p. 174, too good to pass up:
when things break, it's not the actual breaking that prevents them from getting back together again. it's because a little piece gets lost -- the two remaining ends couldn't fit together even if they wanted to. the whole shape has changed.

[Sarah]

Susan wrote: "from Will Grayson Will Grayson

from p. 46:
And then it's over, and out of my peripheral vision I see everyone leaving, but I stay put. In the past half hour, I've collected a mental..."

Oh I like that second quote Susan, nice choice.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

From Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese:

As abruptly as t started, in two days, no more than three, the spell would be over, and after a very long sleep Stone would be back at work as if nothing had happened, never making any reference to how he'd inconvenienced the hospital, the memory of it erased. No one ever brought it up to him because the other Stone, the one who rarely drank, would have been hurt and insulted by suck inquiry or accusation. The other Stone was as productive as three full-time surgeons, and so these episodes were a small price to pay.

[Susan]

Lyn M wrote: "From Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese:

As abruptly as t started, in two days, no more than three, the spell would be over, and after a very long sleep Stone w..."

This sounds fascinating, Lyn! I'm looking forward to your review, to see whether it should go on my TBR.

[Susan]

from Elsewhere

"Welcome, Elizabeth! I've been waiting such a long time to meet you." The woman pulls Liz into a tight embrase that Liz attempts to wiggle out of. "How like Olivia."
"How do you know my mother?" Liz demands.
"I'm her mother, your Grandma Betty, but you never met me. I died before you were born."

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

That has my interest peeked, Susan.

[Susan]

The Big Wave is only 57 pages long, so p. 46 seemed too far in. This is from p. 26:

"Ah, no one knows who makes evil storms," his father replied. "We only know that they come. When they come we must live through them as bravely as we can, and after they are gone, we must feel again how wonderful is life. Every day of life is more valuable now than it was before the storm."

[Susan]

Lyn M wrote: "That has my interest peeked, Susan."

I think it's worth reading, even though I only gave 2 stars. OK, just not one of the best I've read.

[Susan]

from The Ruby in the Smoke

So now Adelaide, having ladled a quantity of warm, greasy soup into a bowl, clumsily hacked a slice of bread to go with it and climbed the stairs to the back bedroom. There was silence from inside; she hoped he was asleep. She unlocked the door and held her breath, loathing the stale, heavy air and the damp chill that struck her as she entered.

[Susan]

from The Color of Water

In the real world, Mommy was "Mrs. McBride" or "Mrs. Jordan," depending on whether she used my father's or stepfather's name, but in Rev. Owens's church, she was Sister Jordan. "Sister Jordan brought quite a few of her children today," Rev. Owens would marvel as Mommy stumbled in with six of us training her. "Quite a few."

[Susan]

from Shizuko's Daughter:

Mama, she thought as she walked toward the house. Maybe I was wrong when I said I could go on alone. But you wouldn't let me take it back. I wanted to take it back.

[Lynne]

Susan wrote: "from The Ruby in the Smoke

So now Adelaide, having ladled a quantity of warm, greasy soup into a bowl, clumsily hacked a slice of bread to go with it and climbed the stairs to the ba..."

Wow, this quote TOTALLY made me want to read this book, and I don't even know what it is about! Great choice.

[Susan]

Lynne wrote: "Susan wrote: "from The Ruby in the Smoke

Wow, this quote TOTALLY made me want to read this book, and I don't even know what it is about! Great choice.

I think you'd like it, Lynne. The writing is rich like that throughout the book. My review is here . It's a short one, but might give you a bit of an idea of the storyline. Have you read Pullman's later series (starting with The Golden Compass)?

[Erin E]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Johnny danced with this girl, hildy. Katie refused to dance with the feller provided for her, a vacuous vulger boy given to remarks like: "I thought you musta fallen in" when katie returned from the ladies' room. However, she let him buy her a beer, and she sat at the table watching Johnny dancing with hildy and thinking that in all the world, there was nobody like Johnny.

[Erin E]

My "I had no idea this book was on this shelf" read

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Siobhan once said that when she felt depressed or sad she would close her eyes and she would imagine that she was staying in a house on Cape Cod with her friend Elly, and they would take a trip on a boat from Provincetown and go out into the bay to watch humback whales and that made her feel calm and peaceful and happy.

[Susan]

from Sula

At the foot of the stairs she redistributed her weight between the crutches and swooped on through the front room, to the dining room, to the kitchen, swinging and swooping like a giant heron, so graceful sailing about in its own habitat but awkward and comical when it folded its wings and tried to walk. With a swing and a swoop she arrived at Plum's door and pushed it open with the tip of one crutch.