The Shadow Cipher Quotes

“They think they're the only ones who understand the real truth about the world, and that it's everyone else who's been tricked. . . . The biggest problem we have is that people like to fool themselves into thinking that they could never be fooled.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“Is your work finished or is it just due?”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“Who are you today?” her mom asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Not to anyone over the age of seven.”
“I’m a ballerina-spy-deathmetalhead.”
“Lovely,” said her mother.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“The therapist her parents brought her to see liked Tess to do a lot of drawings. . . . He said, "It's interesting that you drew yourself with this little golden crown on your head. What does the crown mean to you?"

"That's not a crown," she'd told him. "That's a nimbus of outrage.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“I’m a lady and these are my lady bites.” “Mouth closed, please. No one needs to witness your mastication process,” said Tess’s father,”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“Also, the city did sleep, but it slept the way a cat does, eyes half open, watchful, ready to spring at the first sign of fun, or danger.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“That's way too adorable," Tess said.
"You keep saying that coincidences are adorable when I don't see how one has anything to do with the other," Theo said. "Koala-pandas are adorable."
"You're adorable," Tess said.
Jaime said, "I'm thinking it's a little adorable, too. Cuddly, at least."
"You're hurting my head," said Theo.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“It was as if everyone was a Cipher. You could look for keys and clues, but you might never figure them out.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“And Jaime would say, "I am getting ready for my next beginning.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“the church had three burial sites—the churchyard at Wall Street and Broadway, the Trinity Church”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“older movie they’d seen many times about a guy who finds out his life is not really a life, but some sort of computer-generated virtual reality, and he has to save the world from the tyranny of the machines.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“The true story of any city is never a single tale; it’s a vast collection of stories with many different heroes. But most storytellers believe that theirs is the only true story and that they are the only true heroes.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“The energy of young people powers the world. You are smart, Theo. More than that, you are curious, and that will carry you.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“He had been in this city for barely a fortnight and had concluded it was teeming with ruffians, murderers, and thieves. That he himself was a murderer and a thief was beside the point.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“How would an advertisement for minions read? ‘Have you ever been told your smile makes people uncomfortable? Does your voice sound like a dentist’s drill? Does your gaze cause others to break out in hives? Have you misplaced your moral compass?’
“Tess, are you okay?” Jamie asked.
Right. She wasn't alone in the elevator.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher

“(Therapist:) "It's interesting that you drew yourself with this little golden crown on your head. What does the crown mean to you?"
"That's not a crown," she told him. "That's a nimbus of outrage.”
― Laura Ruby, The Shadow Cipher