Kisses and Croissants Quotes

“The only way to make it in this world is to want it more than anyone else”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“I’m sure you’ve had croissants before. You can get them pretty much anywhere. They usually taste fine, a little bland, maybe. But when you come to Paris, the croissants are unlike anything else you’ve eaten before. They’re warm and soft, golden and buttery. Like baked clouds. Deliciously decadent clouds. They may look the same as the other croissants but they are far superior in every single way and why am I thinking about that right now? Because croissants are like kisses. You don’t fully “get”them until you’ve had them in Paris. And now I know this: French kisses taste a million times better in France.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“A piece of happiness has entered my heart, and I know the cause of it.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Only I can shape who I’m going to become, by doing exactly what I had been doing until now: working hard, keeping my focus solely on what I really want, and then working harder.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Love is like ballet in that way: to be worth it, it has to be painful at times. Exquisitely so.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“I thought I wanted this more than anything else; then my life took a different path, and it was perfect. This isn’t about missing chances. It’s about enjoying the journey. You should pursue your dream for as long as you want to, but you should also allow yourself to change dreams along the way.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“I place the pictures at the bottom of the drawer in my nightstand and turn off the light. From now on, and until the moment I’m on a plane heading back home, I will think of nothing else but ballet.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“You’re right about something, Louis. You don’t understand how hard I’ve worked to get here, because you don’t care about anything. I’m done throwing my future away for someone who thinks this is just a game.” Louis swallows. For a moment, I’m certain that he’s about to yell at me just like I did at him. Instead, he just looks on bitterly, shakes his head, and walks away. A moment later he straddles his Vespa, snaps his helmet shut, and drives off without looking back. That night, to keep my mind busy, I decide to break in yet another new pair of pointe shoes. It feels good to bend the wooden shank relentlessly. I bang the toe box against the floor repeatedly, probably harder than I need to. After I burn the ends of the ribbon and sew on the elastic just the way I like, I put them in my dance bag, satisfied. Now I’m ready for my next rehearsals. There, at the bottom of my bag, are the pictures of Élise Mercier, my ancestor. I sit on my bed, and, as I stare at them, it dawns on me that Louis isn’t the only mistake I’ve made since I arrived in Paris. Something else knocked me off my path: I let this family legend get to me. I somehow believed that my future was out of my hands, that it had been decided for me centuries ago. But Mom was right: it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. Whether Élise Mercier was painted by Degas, or whether she was even an important ballet dancer in her time, my past does not define me. Only I can shape who I’m going to become, by doing exactly what I had been doing until now: working hard, keeping my focus solely on what I really want, and then working harder. I place the pictures at the bottom of the drawer in my nightstand and turn off the light. From now on, and until the moment I’m on a plane heading back home, I will think of nothing else but ballet.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“You’re right about something, Louis. You don’t understand how hard I’ve worked to get here, because you don’t care about anything. I’m done throwing my future away for someone who thinks this is just a game.” Louis swallows. For a moment, I’m certain that he’s about to yell at me just like I did at him. Instead, he just looks on bitterly, shakes his head, and walks away. A moment later he straddles his Vespa, snaps his helmet shut, and drives off without looking back. That night, to keep my mind busy, I decide to break in yet another new pair of pointe shoes. It feels good to bend the wooden shank relentlessly. I bang the toe box against the floor repeatedly, probably harder than I need to. After I burn the ends of the ribbon and sew on the elastic just the way I like, I put them in my dance”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“they look back at me, giggling to themselves. I turn to Louis. “You don’t know what it’s like to have a dream. Something to live or die by. Do you think it’s funny to distract girls? To get in their way?” Louis’s mouth drops open. “I never stopped you from doing anything you wanted to do.” “But you lied to me.” He shakes his head. “Maybe I didn’t tell you everything about my past, but—” “Stop!” “No! I’m not stopping. I want you to succeed, Mia. I want you to get picked by the ABT director, even if it means I’ll never see you again.” He seems on edge himself, vulnerable even, but I don’t trust anything coming from him anymore. His words just glide over me, my anger stripping them of any meaning.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Excuse me,” I say. “Do you know this guy?” They both look a little scared as they glance over to Louis. “Hmm,” the blond one says, one eyebrow raised. Louis comes closer and positions himself in between us. “Louis Dabrowski? He dates every girl in this school, apparently.” “Mia!” Louis says. “My dad is going to kill me.” Then he turns to the girls. “Désolé,” he mumbles, his chest heaving. “Not as much as he destroyed me!” I say. The girls open their eyes wide and freeze. Louis says something else to them in French, but I’m too upset to even try to understand. Before they turn the corner of the street,”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“But Louis doesn’t deny it. Instead, he just sighs. “Who told you that?” I want to crumble to the ground and scream. Someone please wake me up from this nightmare. “That’s all you care about?” “I care about you, Mia. You have to know that. It’s different than the others….” The others. Plural. “I never want to see you again.” I bark this so loudly that a couple of passersby turn to look at us, but I don’t care. Two older students—probably from the yearlong program—come out the front door, and I catch Louis glance at the petite blond one. “Her?” I ask way too loudly. “Stop it,” Louis says without raising his voice. But I’m shaking with disgust. I take a few steps toward the girls who are walking down the stairs.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“How many times have you sat on these steps, checking out ballerinas, and just picked one you liked?” “What are you talking about?” One more time, Louis tries to grab my hand, but I cross my arms. “Let’s go get something to eat. We’ll talk, okay?” “Did you want to keep us a secret because you have another girlfriend here?” “What? No, that’s ridiculous.” I shake my head with rage. “So you’ve never dated another girl from this school?” A small part of me still hopes that this has all been a terrible misunderstanding, and that Monsieur Dabrowski was just annoyed with me about the performance. He could have made up that story to bring me back to reason.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Except that when I find him waiting outside on the steps, in the exact spot where we first met, I realize once more how foolish I am.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“then they ruin it all for a bit of fun.” “What girls?” I demand, realizing too late that I’ve crossed a line. Am I seriously discussing my love life with the artistic director of the Institute of the Paris Opera? I must have lost my mind, and, judging by the bitter look on Monsieur Dabrowski’s face, it’s too late to get it back. More tears follow. I have to wipe my face now, because I can’t see through them anymore. He grimaces, then looks away, giving me the tiniest bit of privacy. “I didn’t mean to make you cry… but, Mademoiselle J—Mia,” he continues, his voice softer, “you need to decide what is more important to you. And you need to do that now. I am not taking you off the role for that one mistake, but I will not tell you this twice: you have an opportunity to”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“It’s not what you think,” I say. “What’s happening between Louis and me—” “Happened with other girls before,” the maître de ballet cuts in sharply. “Excuse me?” My voice is so weak, it’s almost a whisper. The tears I’ve been holding back run down my face, and I don’t bother wiping them off. This cannot be happening. He lets out a deep, irritated sigh. “I told Louis to stop hanging around school. He just… well, he doesn’t have his own dreams. He doesn’t get it. But these girls, they have a purpose, a future. And”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“you’ve had them in Paris. And now I know this: French kisses taste a million times better in France.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Because croissants are like kisses. You don’t fully “get” them until”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“and cedar. I inhale deeply, trying to bottle it up in my memory. Everything about this moment feels right: the murmurs from the street around us, the warm air, the sweet taste of his breath. My heart can no longer handle the anticipation: I part my lips and close the tiny bit of space between us to go find his.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Ballet is not first right now,” I say, leaning closer to him. “Right now is about us.” Louis’s eyes open wide as he pulls me to him. This moment feels different. Charged. Expectant. I wrap my arms around his neck. He brings his face and rests his forehead against mine. I brush my nose against his and get another whiff of him, sunshine”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Oops,” she says, stabbing the top of my thigh lightly with a needle. “This tulle is so thick!” Is it weird if I tell her that she can stab me all she wants? Ballerinas are used to pain. We live with it every day, from our split toenails to our strained muscles. You can’t be a dancer if you’re not willing to make friends with pain. Audrey spins around to accommodate her seamstress, who starts pinning the top in the back. Facing me now, she looks me up and down, her face impassive.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Mia?” he says at last. “I didn’t really come to the Musée d’Orsay to hang out with Max this morning. I saw your name on the list at school. I wanted to see you again….”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“One more time!”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Because croissants are like kisses. You don’t fully “get” them until you’ve had them in Paris. And now I know this: French kisses taste a million times better in France.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“The thing is, ballet is a collaborative experience. Each dancer sets the scene for the next one. Even when you’re doing a solo, it’s not just about you: you are simply borrowing everyone’s attention for a few minutes, before passing it on. Ballet is about harmony. And harmony can only be achieved in the spirit of teamwork.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“I’m sure you’ve had croissants before. You can get them pretty much anywhere. They usually taste fine, a little bland, maybe. But when you come to Paris, the croissants are unlike anything else you’ve eaten before. They’re warm and soft, golden and buttery. Like baked clouds. Deliciously decadent clouds. They may look the same as the other croissants but they are far superior in every single way and why am I thinking about that right now? Because croissants are like kisses. You don’t fully “get” them until you’ve had them in Paris. And now I know this: French kisses taste a million times better in France.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“I smile at my reflection in the mirror. I want to look nice, but not like I tried to look nice.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“The sun is just setting on all the slate rooftops. I scan the endless horizon, and Louis must guess what I'm looking for, because he pulls on my hand and silently points toward the right, in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, which is just visible in the distance.
"Is this for real?" I ask
Louis stands behind me and wraps his arms around my waist as we keep admiring the view.
"I hope so," he whispers in my ear.”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants

“Until we kiss again. The French way, obviously”
― Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, Kisses and Croissants