The Boy in the Black Suit Quotes

“...death isn't bad. It's not. It's just that life is so good. So damn good that you just wanna hold on to it, and everybody in it. But we can't. But what we can do, is appreciate it more. Y'know, smell the flowers.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“And sometimes,” he continued while flipping another one, “I can lose and lose and lose and I don’t know why. But there’s nothing I can do but just keep flipping the cards. Eventually, I’ll win again. As long as you got cards to keep turning, you’re fine. Now, that’s life,” he said, pushing another hand I won over to me.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“We had been texting for exactly thirteen minutes, asking random questions, trying to figure out if we knew any of the same people, or if we liked the same kind of music--the usual interview process you go through when you're trying to get the job as boyfriend.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“Well, I'm sorry you couldn't make it either. I'm sorry I had to sit there in that church--which, by the way, had a broken air conditioner--sweating, watching all those people march down the aisle to look in my mother's casket and whisper to themselves all this mess about how much she looked like herself, even though she didn't. I'm sorry you weren't there to hear the lame choir drag out, song after song. I'm sorry you weren't there to see my dad try his best to be upbeat, cracking bad jokes in his speech, choking on his words. I'm sorry you weren't there to watch me totally lose it and explode into tears. I'm sorry you weren't there for me, but it doesn't matter, because even if you were, you wouldn't be able to feel what I feel. Nobody can. Even the preacher said so.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“IT’S SO WEIRD HOW A PERSON can be a normal part of your everyday life, and then just disappear. And when they do, you realize that some of those everyday things go with them. Like the smell of food cooking. Or the sound of Rick James, Frankie Beverly, or the Isley Brothers playing as background music in our house. The kettle, whistling. Water running in the kitchen sink. She was always at the kitchen sink, my mom, doing a two-step or something. Her voice, and her voices.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“Mr. Ray had no problems opening the door, but he just couldn't close it, as my dad would say.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“We needed to talk, plain and simple. And seeing as through she was texting me, she clearly was opening the door. I just had to be man enough to walk through it.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“Light always wins”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“A giant rose from the second row. Seriously, the biggest man I’ve ever seen in real life. His head was the size of a basketball, and his back was like a king-size mattress. Except made of bricks. “Good afternoon,” the giant said. I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This humongous monster of a man had the voice of a six -year-old. High, squeaky. Like , cute. I could hear that weird sound when you try to hold in a laugh, but a little bit leaks out— like a mouth fart— happening all over the church. People were trying not to crack up, but his voice made it so hard.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“I know people mean well when they ask those kinds of questions, but at the end of the day, they are stupid questions. How am I feeling? Well, let me think. My mother’s funeral was a couple days ago, so I damn sure ain’t happy.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit

“It's so weird how a person can be a normal part of your everyday life, and then just disappear. And when they do, you realize that some of those everyday things go with them. Like the smell of food cooking.”
― Jason Reynolds, The Boy in the Black Suit