Jenny Han Quotes & Sayings

It doesn't matter if I like him or not, because he doesn't like me back. — Jenny Han

He's being sarcastic. I hate when people are sarcastic. It's so cheap. — Jenny Han

And I feel like all the tension and bad feelings between us evaporate into nothingness. — Jenny Han

I give him a strange look. Just a second ago he was grousing, and now he's happy as a clam. I don't get boys. — Jenny Han

It will get easier each time, I think. I hope. I just have to keep trying. — Jenny Han

But then I think, no, I wouldn't give up twelve, thirteen, sixteen, seventeen with Peter for the world. — Jenny Han

I wondered if this was the way old crushes died, with a whimper, slowly, and then, just like that - gone. — Jenny Han

When I write, I hold nothing back. I write like he'll never read it. Because he never will. Every secret thought, every careful observation, everything I've saved up inside me, I put it all in the letter. When I'm done, I seal it, I address it, and then I put it in my teal hatbox. — Jenny Han

It was the promise of maybe, maybe one day. — Jenny Han

When someone's been gone a long time, at first you save up all the things you want to tell them. You try to keep track of everything in your head. But it's like trying to hold on to a fistful of sand: all the little bits slip out of your hands, and then you're just clutching air and grit. — Jenny Han

He smiled at me, and that smile
he just gets in. His smile did it every time. — Jenny Han

There's a Korean word my grandma taught me. It's called jung. It's the connection between two people that can't be severed, even when love turns to hate. You still have those old feelings for them; you can't ever completely shake them loose of you; you will always have tenderness in your heart for them. — Jenny Han

I tighten my fingers around his. If we just hold on tight enough, it will all be okay. — Jenny Han

That night I dreamed of Conrad. I was the same age I was now, but he was younger, ten or eleven maybe. I think he might even have been wearing
overalls. We played outside my house until it got dark, just running around the yard.
I said, "Susannah will be wondering where you are. You should go home." He said, "I can't. I don't know how.
Will you help me?" And then I was sad, because I didn't know how either. We weren't at my house anymore, and it was so dark. We were in the
woods. We were lost.
When I woke up, I was crying and Jeremiah was asleep next to me. I sat up in the bed. It was dark, the only light in the room was my alarm clock. It
read 4:57. I lay back down. — Jenny Han

So, how does he kiss?"
I'm blushing. I tap my fingers on my lips before I say, "He kisses like ... like it could be his job. — Jenny Han

Not the kind of girl to break up and get back together on a whim; once she's decided something, that's it. There's no waffling, no regrets. It's like she said: when she's done, she's just done. — Jenny Han

It's a known fact in life that you can't have everything — Jenny Han

There is something about walking into a room full of boys that makes you feel exposed, inadequate, like you come up short in every way that matters. It didn't used to be like this, and I don't know when it changed, but now it feels like it was always this way. — Jenny Han

You're both growing and changing, and it's hard to grow and change at the same rate. — Jenny Han

I've got my Motown girl-group music playing, and my supplies are laid out all around me in a semicircle. My heart hole punch, pages and pages of scrapbook paper, pictures I've cut out of magazines, glue gun, my tape dispenser with all my different colored washi tapes. Souvenirs like the playbill from when we saw Wicked in New York, receipts, pictures. Ribbon, buttons, stickers, charms. A good scrapbook has texture. It's thick and chunky and doesn't close all the way. — Jenny Han

Stormy, can you believe we were ever so young? — Jenny Han

Slowly, deliberately, she says, "The winner gets a wish." "From who?" Trevor asks. "Everybody?" "From any one of us who are playing." "Wait — Jenny Han

It was a summer I would never, ever forget. It was the summer everything began. It was the summer I turned pretty. Because for the first time, I felt it. Pretty, I mean. Every summer up to this one, I believed it'd be different. Life would be different. And that summer, it finally was. — Jenny Han

I say, " I can't believe you're really here."
He sounds almost shy when he says, "Me neither." And then he hesitates. "Are you still coming with me?"
I cant believe he even has to ask. I would go anywhere. "Yes," I tell him. It feels like nothing else exists outside of that word, this moment. There's just us. Everything that happened this past summer and every summer before it, has all led up to this.
To Now — Jenny Han

It wasn't was easy as picking one over the other. Nothing ever was. It wasn't as though I'd even had a choice, not really. — Jenny Han

I spun away from him. I didn't need his pity.
I started walking in the opposite direction of the house. I didn't know where I was going, I just wanted to get away from him.
He called out, "I still love you."
I froze. And then slowly,
I turned around to look at him. "Don't say that — Jenny Han

It feels strange to have spent so much time wishing for something, for someone, and then one day, suddenly, to just stop. I — Jenny Han

It might not have been him. But it doesn't matter, Lara Jean, because even if he didn't encourage all the talk, I doubt he discouraged it, if you know what I'm saying. — Jenny Han

There is a specific kind of fight you can only have with your sister. It's the kind where you say things you can't take back. You say them because you can't help but say them, because you're so angry it's coming up your throat and out your eyes; you're so angry you can't see straight. All you see is blood. — Jenny Han

Would you rather live one perfect day over and over or live your life with no perfect days but just decent ones? — Jenny Han

He doesn't know it, but when Peter talks about Genevieve, he gets a certain softness in his face. It's tenderness mixed with impatience. And something else. Love. Peter can protest all he wants, but I know he still loves her. — Jenny Han

Never say no when you really want to say yes. — Jenny Han

They had such a good meet-cute," I croak. — Jenny Han

Things have a way of settling back. — Jenny Han

That's when I finally got it. I finally understood. It wasn't the thought that counted. It was the actual execution that mattered, the showing up for somebody. The intent behind it wasn't enough. Not for me. Not anymore. It wasn't enough to know that deep down, he loved me. You had to actually say it to somebody, show them you cared. And he just didn't. Not enough. — Jenny Han

Reeve shakes his head and exhales loudly. "That's not what I'm saying and you know it!" He looks away. "Can you just ... can you go get dressed and come with me and we'll talk about it later? My mom's expecting you. — Jenny Han

On the day of his mother's funeral, to the boy I loved more than I had ever loved
anything or anyone, I said, Go to hell. — Jenny Han

I want to say yes, but I don't want to be with a boy whose heart belongs to somebody else. Just once, I want to be somebody else's first choice — Jenny Han

I decided Conrad was right after all. Ilsa was meant to be with Laszlo. That was the way it was always supposed to end. Rick was nothing but a tiny piece of her past, a piece that she would always treasure, but that was all, because history is just that. History. — Jenny Han

I never once cheated on you. I never even looked at another girl when we were together.
Conrad Fisher — Jenny Han

One day soon you'll be in the world, and you'll have so many options you won't know what to do with them. Everyone will fall in love with you, because you're so beautiful and so charming, and you'll look back on high school as such a tiny blip. — Jenny Han

I could never be with someone who didn't understand how important my family is to me. When — Jenny Han

He started to say something, maybe an apology and maybe not, and then he stopped, he leaned over and pulled me toward him - like by gravitational force. He kissed me, hard, and his skin was stubbly and rough against my cheek. My first thought was, I guess he didn't have time to shave this morning, and then - I was kissing him back, my fingers winding through his soft yellow hair and my eyes closed. He kissed like he was drowning and I was air. It was passionate, and desperate, and like nothing I had ever experienced before.
This was what people meant when they said the earth stopped turning. It felt like a world outside of that car, that moment, didn't exist. It was just us. — Jenny Han

You know how I know she's your most important person? You pick her every time. — Jenny Han

It was like coming home after you'd been gone a long, long time. It held a million promises of summer and of what just might be. — Jenny Han

We are married. We are infinite. Me and Conrad. The first boy I ever slow danced with, ever cried over. Ever loved — Jenny Han

I lie back down and close my eyes and imagine his arms are still around me, and that's how I fall asleep. — Jenny Han

Love. He said "love." I feel dizzy. I am a girl who is loved, by a boy, and not just her sisters and father and dog. — Jenny Han

You only like guys you don't have a shot with, because you're scared. What are you so scared of? — Jenny Han

She says sometimes you have to scream out emotions; if you don't, they'll fester. — Jenny Han

We never did see a shooting star, but it didn't matter to me one bit. Before the night was over I said, this is one of my top moments. He said mine too. — Jenny Han

When I get you back, I'm gonna put that necklace back around your neck and pin you. He tries to hold my eyes with his own. 'Like the 1950s. — Jenny Han

Peter and I have been working our way down our movie list, which consists of my picks (favorite movies of mine that he's never seen), his picks, (favorite movies of his that I've never seen), and movies neither of us have seen. Aliens was Peter's pick, and it's turning out to be quite good. And even though once upon a time Peter claimed he didn't like rom coms, he was very into Sleepless in Seattle, which I was relieved for, because I just don't see how I could be with someone who doesn't like Sleepless in Seattle. — Jenny Han

I loved him in a way you can really on do the first time around. It's the kind of love that doesn't know better and doesn't want to - it's dizzy and foolish and fierce. — Jenny Han

Is this how it goes? You fall in love, and nothing seems truly scary anymore, and life is one big possibility? — Jenny Han

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN. — Jenny Han

He kisses like ... like it could be his job." Margot giggles and lifts the spoons off her eyes. "Like a male prostitute? — Jenny Han

What in the world? I stare at him, my mouth open. I never said you had an STD! — Jenny Han

Love is scary: it changes; it can go away. That's the part of the risk. I don't want to be scared anymore. — Jenny Han

So are you gonna cry about it like a punk, or are you gonna do something? — Jenny Han

I'm always wondering about the what-ifs, about the road not taking. — Jenny Han

It's torturous standing there in front of him, waiting - for what, I don't know. — Jenny Han

Like snow globes, you shake them up, and for a moment everything is upside down and glitter everywhere and it's just like magic - but then it all settles and goes back to where it's supposed to be. — Jenny Han

My Pocahontas-meets-seventies-Cher-style shirt. Oh, how I loved that shirt — Jenny Han

Victory is ten times sweeter for the underdog. — Jenny Han

Maybe this was all supposed to happen just like this, because . . . because it was always gonna be you and me. — Jenny Han

I hate change more than almost anything. — Jenny Han

The look on his face made me want to die. It confirmed every mean and low thing I'd ever thought about myself, the stuff you hope and pray no one will ever know about you. Because if they knew, they would see the real you, and they would despise you. — Jenny Han

I used to believe. I used to think that if I wanted it bad enough, wished hard enough, everything would work out the way It was supposed to. Destiny, like Susannah said. — Jenny Han

My body is a temple not just any boy gets to worship at. I won't do any more than I want to do. — Jenny Han

Because she's Peter's girl — Jenny Han

I don't like taking my eyes away from what's happening right in front of me, not for a second. — Jenny Han

Here's something else, something important: Love is not transactional. It is not a bank account, you don't always get what you put in. Sometimes you put in so much and get very little return on your investment, at least that you can see right away. — Jenny Han

Belly, this is Yolie. She's my co-lifeguard."
Yolie reached over and shook my hand. It struck me as a businessy thing to do for someone in a bikini. She had a firm handshake, a nice grip, something my mother would have appreciated. "Hi Belly," she said. "I've heard a lot about you."
"You have?" I looked up at Jeremiah.
He smirked. "Yeah. I told her all about the way you snore so loud that I can hear you down the hall."
I smacked his foot. "Shut up." Turning to Yolie, I said, "It's nice to meet you."
She smiled at me. She had dimples in both cheeks and a crooked bottom tooth. "You too. Jere, do you want to take your break now?"
"In a little bit," he said. "Belly, go work on your sun damage. — Jenny Han

That's life. Things don't always work out. — Jenny Han

I love Jere more than anybody. He's my brother, my family. I hate myself for doing this. But when I see you two together, I hate him too." His voice broke.
"Don't marry him. Don't be with him. Be with me. — Jenny Han

Sometimes I think I'll never trust another girl the way I trust you. — Jenny Han

What I really want to say is Peter will always pick Lara Jean over Genevieve. — Jenny Han

And then he smiled at me, and he was Jeremiah again. Susannah's boy, sunshine and smiles. Her little angel. — Jenny Han

There have been other girls. But they weren't her. — Jenny Han

Firsts were important. But I was pretty sure lasts were even more important. — Jenny Han

I've never known Margot to chicken out before, but I suppose in matters of the heart, there's no predicting how a person will or won't behave. — Jenny Han

Triumphantly he says, Did you predict that, Lara Jean? — Jenny Han

So maybe she's got a little bit of me in her after all.
Kitty continues. "We could put red food coloring in the syrup, too, to make it look like blood. A bloody heart!"
No, never mind. Kitty is all her own. — Jenny Han

There's nothing crazier than a Christmas tree all lit up. — Jenny Han

Josh, you break my heart. And you're a liar. Because you know me, you know me better than almost anybody, and you don't love me. — Jenny Han

Sometimes it hurts to look at you, I said. I loved that I could say that and he knew exactly what I meant. — Jenny Han

She'd known me my whole life. It's hard to throw away history. It was like you were throwing a part of yourself. — Jenny Han

I didn't have that kind of friendship, the forever kind of friendship that will last your whole life through, no matter what. — Jenny Han

It's funny how much of childhood is about proximity. Like who your best friend is is directly correlated to how close your houses are; who you sit next to in music is all about how close your names are in the alphabet. Such a game of chance. — Jenny Han

So what would you have asked for if you won?"
He doesn't hesitate even one beat. "Your peanut butter chocolate cake with my name written in Reese's Pieces. — Jenny Han

He will let you down, because that's what he does. That's who he is. — Jenny Han

No guy has ever set the record straight for me."

I know she's thinking of the boy from freshman year, the one who told everyone that Chris had sex with him in the locker room. And I'm thinking of Mrs Duvall, of what she said before. She would probably lump Chris in with the party girls, the girls who sleep around, the girls who aren't "better than that." She would be wrong. We're all the same. — Jenny Han

Because sometimes you just feel sad and you can't explain it. — Jenny Han

What's a meet-cute?" Peter's lying on his side now, his head propped up on his elbow. He looks so adorable I could pinch his cheeks, but I refrain from saying so. His head is big enough as it is. "A meet-cute is when the hero and heroine meet for the very first time, and it's always in a charming way. It's how you know they're going to end up together. The cuter the better. — Jenny Han

I thought he was kind of a dick too, but I didn't say so. You're not supposed to join in when someone is bashing his father. — Jenny Han

How was I supposed to know what's real and what's not? It feels like I'm the only one who doesn't know the difference. — Jenny Han

Peter's gone away on his training weekend. It's only been one day and I'm already longing for him the way I long for Christmas in July. Peter is my cocoa in a cup, my red mittens, my Christmas morning feeling. He — Jenny Han

Please let me faint right now, because if I faint I will no longer be here, in this moment. It will be like in movies when a girl passes out from the horror of it all and the fighting happens while she is asleep and she wakes up in a hospital bed with a bruise or two, but she's missed all the bad stuff. I wish that was my life instead of this. — Jenny Han

Like, why do I speak? Why did God give me a mouth if I'm just going to say dumb stuff with it? — Jenny Han