How Far I'll Go Quotes

“You once told me our mistakes aren't permanent, Noe. You can always return to who you were meant to be.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“Did you and my dad name the boat?"
"We did." Afā looked awkwardly at his feet. "We named her Moana."”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“It's just a story, Moana."
"They might say that about us and our journey someday.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“She was Moana of Motunui, chosen by the ocean to save her people from the blight, to restore the heart of Te Fiti.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“There is no greater silence than the breath
after a prayer. In that one moment, when you believe someone might
answer your call—and then they don’t.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“Soon, she'd return home and raise her island higher, leading her village with pride and strength. Moana looked toward the sea, toward Motunui.
She'd show her island the way, just like Noe and her ancestors had shown her--- and she'd start by taking her people far past their island's reef.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“The mother island wants you to know she can't give you a constellation like the demigod Maui has, but she can return Noelani's seeing stone to you--- restored by her own lava. She hopes that this pendant will serve as a reminder of your role and everything you've done for her and the rest of the ocean, so you, Moana of Motunui, can never forget who you are.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“Unlike Te Kā, the mother island smelled of fresh moss drenched with river water, and her stare did not scald Moana--- though something ancient stirred within the facets of the goddess's gemstone eyes.
I know who you are, Moana.
Moana trembled under the goddess's watch as Te Fiti's voice lilted through her mind, light as a breeze.
Now you see, the goddess told her, and a warmth shivered across Moana's skin. The goddess's hand hovered in the air, and Moana felt her power coarse through her cursed arm and shoulder, cleansing her skin of the black veins and stone that encased her palm, wrist, neck, and jaw. Instead, where the goddess's hand passed, flowers and moss crawled up Moana's arm, tickling her skin with their petals and plush leaves.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“Soon I will have everything I need to resurrect myself and my people--- and you're just a girl, Moana. What can you do to me?"
Noe's hands rose into the air, and Moana lunged.
Noe had asked.
Moana pulled back her heavy stone arm and punched the girl solidly in the jaw.
The hit landed, sprawling Noe onto the sand. She looked up. Shock bled through her eyes.
"You're not the only one with a foot in death now, Noe," Moana said, lurching toward her with her volcanic fist again.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“You would've found your way, Moana. You helped me remember we have salt water in our blood. We can never be lost on the ocean's waves. It will always draw us together." Moana cried freely as Afā began to glow, and she knew she was looking at his spirit now. He would disappear into the spirit realm to join their ancestors. "You are the culmination of all our people's hopes and dreams," Afā said, touching his forehead to hers. But there was no shared breath between them. Because this was not a greeting; this was a goodbye.
"I see our ancestors in you, Moana--- and they're proud of you. You've turned the tides of our island's future, and our ancestors know you're gonna teach future generations how to find their way. Remember, you're carrying our traditions on. You could never be a failure to them.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“But the ocean chose you, and I believe you were chosen because of who you are--- not despite it."
Moana's chest tightened. She thought of the first time she'd waded into the ocean's tide. The memory was hazy after the years, but she could still remember the shape of the pretty shell she'd found--- and the turtle on the sand she'd chosen to help, instead of claiming that shell for herself. Only then had the ocean's waves revealed the glimmering heart.
"Maybe you're right."
"Of course I am." Afā grinned, and Moana saw a flash of her father in him. They had the same self-assured grin, the same brazen spirit. "We can't let our mistakes define us, right?" Moana sniffed at the familiar words as Afā went on. "I look at you and I see so much strength and pride--- and I know you're not a failure, so don't forget who you are.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“In the other visions Te Fiti had sent her, wherever she went, the goddess had smelled of flowers and fresh green growth, perfuming the air with tiare, lehua honey, and heady moss.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“She felt herself gliding over stone. Tiare and puakenikeni floated behind her, their fragrance replacing the cavern's musty air. Notes of sasalapa and citrus and moss displaced the heady mildew and the scale rot coalescing on the rocks.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“Taro was wrapped in banana leaves and cooked with coconut cream in a split gourd, wringing Moana's hunger with its smell.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“Whatever it was, she'd eat it, she promised herself. She'd do it for her people, Maui, and Te Fiti---
A cloying sweetness drifted toward her. A familiar aroma.
Is that banana? Moana's eyes winked open and--- sure enough--- baked bananas glistened in a pool of coconut cream. The monsters were serving bowls of banana po'e.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“A glowing manta ray swam through the dark sea, radiating wicks of iridescent blue. The manta ray shimmered as it floated toward Moana--- the very same one that had guided her out of the reef back home. Its wings glided gracefully though the water, reminding her of a dancer until it dove under, robbing Moana of her view.
"You are a long ways past the reef," a voice murmured softly.
Perched beside Maui's stone figure was her grandmother's spirit, wearing a sad smile.
"Gramma?"
A familiar sly look flitted across the spirit's face, wrinkling her white brows. She tilted her head toward the manta tattoo on her back. "Guess I chose the right tattoo.
"Gramma!" Moana shouted, running into the spirit's arms. She hugged her tight as a strange cold eased into her, breezing over her skin where she touched her gramma's spirit. But she ignored it, pressing her face into her gramma's neck, inhaling notes of her familiar coconut oil aroma. She'd always rubbed it along her skin and worn it in her hair, along with the red hibiscus she gathered.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go

“Finally, Moana spied a streak of blue in the water. The light dissolved, and a shark's fin cut through the ocean. Maui had the heart captured in his many teeth, the stone shining bright like the pearls her mother collected from the oysters on Motunui.”
― Keala Kendall, How Far I'll Go: A Twisted Tale