Shadowshaper Quotes

“Crazy. It was the same word María and Tía Rosa flung at Grandpa Lázaro. The same word anyone said when they didn't understand something. "Crazy" was a way to shut people up, disregard them entirely.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Today she looked menacingly into the mirror and said: “I’m Sierra María Santiago. I am what I am. Enough.” She sighed. These days were spooky enough without her talking to herself. “More than enough.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“It’s really nice to meet you, sir. You drive like a wild maniac, and I respect that.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Bennie's corner of Brooklyn looked different every time Sierra passed through it. She stopped at the corner of Washington Avenue and St. John's Place to take in the changing scenery. A half block from where she stood, she'd skinned her knee playing hopscotch while juiced up on iceys and sugar drinks. Bennie's brother, Vincent, had been killed by the cops on the adjacent corner, just a few steps from his own front door. Now her best friend's neighborhood felt like another planet. The place Sierra and Bennie used to get their hair done had turned into a fancy bakery of some kind, and yes, the coffee was good, but you couldn't get a cup for less than three dollars. Plus, every time Sierra went in, the hip, young white kid behind the counter gave her either the don't-cause-no-trouble look or the I-want-to-adopt-you look. The Takeover (as Bennie had dubbed it once) had been going on for a few years now, but tonight its pace seemed to have accelerated tenfold. Sierra couldn't find a single brown face on the block. It looked like a late-night frat party had just let out; she was getting funny stares from all sides--as if she was the out-of-place one, she thought. And then, sadly, she realized she was the out-of-place one.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Her voice carried the voices of a hundred thousand souls in it; a whole history of resistance and rage moved with her.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“The dead were so alive! They carried their whole lives with them in those tall, walking shadows, brought each second, each thrill and tragedy with them wherever they went.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“The same word anyone said when they didn’t understand something. Crazy was a way to shut people up, disregard them entirely.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“But once when she was chatting with some stupid boy online, she described herself as the color of coffee with not enough milk. There was a pause in the conversation, and the words glared back at her strangely, like the echo of a burp in an empty auditorium. She wondered if what she’d typed was burning holes in her chat partner too. Then he typed o thas hot yo and she’d quickly slammed her laptop shut. In the sudden darkness of her bedroom, the words had lingered as if imprinted in her forehead: not enough. The worst part about it, the part she couldn’t let go of, was that the thought came from her. Not from one of the teachers or guidance counselors whose eyes said it again and again over sticky-sweet smiles. Not from some cop on Marcy Avenue or Tía Rosa. It came from somewhere deep inside her. And that meant that for all the times she’d shrugged off one of those slurs, some little tentacle of them still crawled its way toward her heart. Not enough milk. Not light enough. Morena. Negra. No matter what she did, that little voice came creeping back, persistent and unsatisfied. Not enough.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“We are entwined. I drew power from the spirits and spirit workers and I returned it to them tenfold. The true source of shadowshaper magic is in that connection, community, Sierra. We are interdependent.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“It never failed; even today, with paintings crying and strangers lurking, the scent of her mom’s chicken and rice eased her mind away from all that trouble, at least for a few seconds.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Papa Acevedo always used to say people don’t see what they’re not looking for.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“I was thinking that we could spli —” “We’re not splitting up,” Bennie whispered hoarsely.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“The Takeover (as Bennie had dubbed it once) had been going on for a few years now, but tonight its pace seemed to have accelerated tenfold. Sierra couldn’t find a single brown face on the block. It looked like a late-night frat party had just let out; she was getting funny stares from all sides —as if she was the out-of-place one, she thought. And then, sadly, she realized she was the out-of-place one.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Apparently all Puerto Rican moms were the same, even if they weren’t your mom.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“But it was hard work making suggestions and not blatant declarations with her ever-changing Puerto Rican body.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Her voice carried the voices of a hundred thousand souls in it; a whole history of resistance and rage moved with her.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Neville, can you be that cool godfather that does his goddaughter a solid without asking too many questions?” “Conspicuous and Ridiculous are my middle names.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“But once when she was chatting with some stupid boy online, she described herself as the color of coffee with not enough milk. There was a pause in the conversation, and the words glared back at her strangely, like the echo of a burp in an empty auditorium”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“And now she needed to get dressed for her — date? — with Robbie, and she really wasn’t in the mood. He had completely shattered her whole boys-are-cute-until-they-open-their-mouths thing. Not only was he not stupid, he looked at her like she made sense, like they shared some secret language that no one else knew, and that they spoke it even when they weren’t speaking at all.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“She ran her hands through her fro. She loved it the way it was, free and undaunted. She imagined it as a force field, deflecting all Rosa’s stupid comments.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Why’d everyone go running and security get all upset?” Sierra said. “Cuz a black man put a bag down and walked away.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Family history, breaking and entering, weird secrets locked up in a Ivy League fortress,” Neville said. “Sounds like my kinda mayhem. You got a plan?”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Can other people see them? Like … regular people?” “If they look.” She took a step toward him. “They usually don’t look, do they?” “No.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“I mean — it’s an exchange. You give them form, they work for you — with you, ideally, toward your goal. And they know that, so they show up ready to work.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“The Takeover (as Bennie had dubbed it once) had been going on for a few years now, but tonight its pace seemed to have accelerated tenfold. Sierra couldn’t find a single brown face on the block. It looked like a late-night frat party had just let out; she was getting funny stares from all sides — as if she was the out-of-place one, she thought.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“doing. I’m just saying: Who gets to study and who gets studied, and why? Who makes the decisions, you know?”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“¿Ahora? Carajo. The blankness of void vacant estupid.” “If you don’t make a move soon,” Rutilio said, “I will make sure that that’s what they write on your gravestone.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Far as I can tell,” Tee said, “hipsters are basically yuppies with tighter pants and bigger glasses. Whatever they are, they make a mean mochaccino.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“If you take any longer,” Rutilio chortled, “Sierra here will be in the nursing home by the time you’re done. Anyway, your entire family tree is a sad weed that I pull from my garden and spit on before I feed it to the rats.”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper

“Vincent had been killed by the cops three years back. His towering image stood tall against the cement wall, arms crossed over his chest, his name written in bubbly letters across the front of his favorite hoodie. The artist had painted him smiling that terrific Vincent cheeseball grin he’d flash after making a really stupid joke. Now, his eyebrows arched and his jaw jutted out with a sharp frown as he glared into the distance. Sierra”
― Daniel José Older, Shadowshaper