Ruta Sepetys Quotes & Sayings

I adore themes of hope and courage and the ways we find meaning through suffering. — Ruta Sepetys

Willie appeared completely calm about the news of Mother. She always said she could make tea in a tornado. — Ruta Sepetys

What did I want? I wanted the war to be over so I could ask her out. — Ruta Sepetys

The truck stopped in front of the hospital. Everyone seemed relieved that they would tend to the bald man's injuries. But they did not. They were waiting. A woman who was also on the list was giving birth to a baby. As soon as the umbilical cord was cut, they would both be thrown into the truck. — Ruta Sepetys

That doesn't make him a hero. Our country is doomed, don't you see? Our fate is death, no matter whose hands we fall into. — Ruta Sepetys

David Arnold's writing is both heartfelt and hilarious. You will fall in love with Mim, even as her grand journey will keep you guessing. Mosquitoland reminds us that sometimes imperfect is just perfect. — Ruta Sepetys

Guilt is a hunter. My conscience mocked me, picking fights like a petulant child. It's all your fault, the voice whispered. I — Ruta Sepetys

That's a good hustle," I told him.
"We both got a little hustle, don't we?" He pulled on his jacket. "But I like to think we got more heart. — Ruta Sepetys

They were certainly a pair. Cincinnati in a dead man's suit, Mother in a dead man's wallet. — Ruta Sepetys

It belongs to an Uptown attorney. What a horse's ass. Thinks he's so smart. He doesn't know the difference between piss and perfume. I'll have fun returning that to him. Maybe I'll drop by his house at dinnertime. — Ruta Sepetys

Mother wrapped her arms around Jonas, kissing his hair. — Ruta Sepetys

A woman nearby fell to her knees, sobbing. 'They say I can only choose one child for the ship. How can I choose? Please don't make me choose. — Ruta Sepetys

That sounded like something Mother would say, throwing color onto a black-and-white picture. — Ruta Sepetys

You love stories, Emilia. Well, the trees hold hundreds of years of stories. Think of it, everything these trees have seen and felt. All of the secrets are inside of them. — Ruta Sepetys

Mother, why are you breaking your beautiful things?' I asked ...
'Because I love them so much. — Ruta Sepetys

The brutality was shocking. Disgraceful acts of inhumanity. No one wanted to fall into the hands of the enemy. But it was growing harder to distinguish who the enemy was. — Ruta Sepetys

A guilty conscience is not worth extra food. — Ruta Sepetys

Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us? The — Ruta Sepetys

The scent of Havana tobacco draped thick from the magnolia trees in the front yard. Ice cubes mingled and clinked against the sides of crystal tumblers. Patrick said hello to a group of men sitting on the veranda. I heard the pop of a champagne cork and laughter from inside. — Ruta Sepetys

A thing of beauty is a joy forever . . . it will never pass into nothingness. — Ruta Sepetys

Those memories, they are the coals that shield my heart from frost. — Ruta Sepetys

The lie came out so easily it frightened me. I used to feel sick to my stomach when I heard Mother tell a lie. How can you do it? How do you live with yourself? I used to wonder. But here I was, lying to Miss Paulsen and smiling while doing it. — Ruta Sepetys

I became good at pretending. I became so good that after a while the lines blurred between my truth and fiction. And sometimes, when I did a really good job of pretending, I even fooled myself. — Ruta Sepetys

I was a marionette. He loved pulling the strings. — Ruta Sepetys

I love Between shades of gray — Ruta Sepetys

Perhaps tomorrow I would actually put pen to paper. — Ruta Sepetys

But unlike Mama, I would not go to heaven. My secrets padlocked the gates. I'd be a torn kite stuck in the dead branches of a tree, unable to fly. — Ruta Sepetys

I looked down at the little pink face in the bundle. A newborn. The child had been alive only minutes but was already considered a criminal by the Soviets. — Ruta Sepetys

The shoes always tell the story,' said the shoe poet.
'Not always,' I countered.
'Yes, always. Your boots, they are expensive, well made. That tells me that you come from a wealthy family. But the style is one made for and older woman. That tell me they probably belong to your mother. A mother sacrificed her boots for her daughter. That tells me you are loved, my dear. And your mother is not here, so that tells me that you are sad, my dear. The shoes tell the story. — Ruta Sepetys

Hitler said KdF brought opportunity for everyone, all were equal. But how could all be equal if some were favored? — Ruta Sepetys

He said nothing, just pulled me down into his lap and wrapped his arms around me. — Ruta Sepetys

Through hardship to the stars — Ruta Sepetys

your shoes are carrying your most valuable possession - your life. Do not delay. Everything else can be replaced, — Ruta Sepetys

It amazed me how some people could touch an instrument and create something so beautiful, and when others tried, like me, it just sounded like mangled noise. — Ruta Sepetys

Writers of historical fiction would be lost without libraries and archives. — Ruta Sepetys

Well, I don't know, Lina. But let's just say I've met a lot of dead people. — Ruta Sepetys

She is you, she is your mother, your father, your country. She is Poland. — Ruta Sepetys

Guilt is a hunter.
Fate is a hunter.
Shame is a hunter.
Fear is a hunter. — Ruta Sepetys

Man, you're a regular Bonnie Parker."
"A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up."
Jesse found that hysterical. "Did Willie say that?"
"Nope, Mae West. Now, how do I get on this thing in a skirt? — Ruta Sepetys

What a group we were. A pregnant girl in love, a kindly shoemaker, an orphan boy, a blind girl, and a giantess who complained that everyone was in her way when she herself took up the most room. And me, a lonely girl who missed her family and begged for a second chance. — Ruta Sepetys

Willie said normal was boring and that I should be grateful that I had a touch of spice. She said no one cared about boring people, and when they died, they were forgotten, like something that slips behind the dresser. — Ruta Sepetys

This was the type of man who looked at a picture on the wall and instead of admiring the photo, looked at his own reflection in the glass. I — Ruta Sepetys

I took several trips to New Orleans and met with people who had intimate knowledge of the underbelly of the city in the 1950s. The meetings were both fascinating and terrifying. — Ruta Sepetys

Each day when the train stopped, we'd lean out of the car and try to count the number of bodies thrown. It grew every day. I noticed Jonas kept track of the children, making marks with a stone on the floor board of the car. I looked at his marks and imagined drawing little heads atop each one - hair, eyes, a nose, and a mouth. — Ruta Sepetys

I wasn't certain of anything anymore, except that New Orleans was a faithless friend and I wanted to leave her. — Ruta Sepetys

He wrapped his arms around me and planted a kiss straight on my lips, hard and long. It felt like I was watching the kiss instead of being inside of it. — Ruta Sepetys

We cannot be too cautious, Hannelore. Just because someone knocks on the door doesn't mean you have to open it. Sometimes, sweet girl, there are wolves at the door. If we are not careful, they might eat us. — Ruta Sepetys

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a match. The two kids both have hand-me-down names of the ill repute." Jesse turned to me. "But actually, I win. You're named after a madam. I'm named after a murderer. So mine's worse. — Ruta Sepetys

Jo, they have a baby grand piano, but no one in the family plays. They have shelves of books they've never read, and the tension between the couples was so thick it nearly choked us."
"Let me tell you something 'bout those rich Uptown folk," said Cokie. "They got everything that money can buy, their bank accounts are fat, but they ain't happy. They ain't ever gone be happy. You know why? They soul broke. And money can't fix that, no sir. My friend Bix was poor. Lord, he had to blow that trumpet ten hours a day just to put a little taste in the pot. Died poor, too. You saw him, Jo, with that plate on his chest. But that man wasn't soul broke. — Ruta Sepetys

We all laced together - a brothel madam, an English professor, a mute cook, a quadroon cabbie, and me, the girl carrying a bucket of lies and throwing them like confetti. — Ruta Sepetys

My sister and brother are both writers as well. We are constantly discussing story and plot lines. And I love to discuss story ideas with my husband. — Ruta Sepetys

the poet Emerson said that when we have worn out our shoes, the strength of the journey has passed into our body. — Ruta Sepetys

It was hard to imagine that war raged somewhere in Europe. We had a war of our own, waiting for the NKVD to choose the next victim, to throw us in the next hole. — Ruta Sepetys

More than ten thousand people had been on board the Gustloff. The gruesome details of the sinking would be reported in every world newspaper. The tragedy would be studied for years, become legendary. — Ruta Sepetys

He wanted to know something about me. I leaned over and put my mouth to his ear. It was barely a whisper.
'I'm a murderer. — Ruta Sepetys

The words tasted sour. I agreed with Patrick. In New Orleans, sometimes death did feel more like socializing. And he knew better than anyone else. He frequented postmortem parties daily, trolling for books. — Ruta Sepetys

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be taken by anybody else, these pages must be shown. — Ruta Sepetys

Isn't she beautiful?" said Joana.

"What's beautiful," said the old man, "is that she has beaten this war. You saw it on the road. Ingrid through the ice, death and destruction all around. Look what's transpiring down on that pier. Frantic desperation. The Russians are just around the corner."

He moved forward and gestured to the baby. "Yet amidst all that, life has spit in the eye of death. We must find her some shoes. — Ruta Sepetys

Everyone has a price," she said.
"But clearly not everyone has a soul, — Ruta Sepetys

I took many trips down to New Orleans trying to experience the city as deeply as possible. I'm from Detroit so New Orleans seemed very exotic to me. — Ruta Sepetys

For some reason, my hair always looked best right before bed, and what good was that? — Ruta Sepetys

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch. — Ruta Sepetys

So, you hate me?" He laughed.
How could Mother have tolerated Kretzsky? She claimed he had helped her.
"I hate me, too," he said. — Ruta Sepetys

I tried to sketch but couldn't. When I started to draw, the pencil moved by itself, propelled by something hideous that lived inside of me. — Ruta Sepetys

New Orleans is unlike any city in America. Its cultural diversity is woven into the food, the music, the architecture - even the local superstitions. It's a sensory experience on all levels and there's a story lurking around every corner. — Ruta Sepetys

There's a saying, 'Death hath a thousand doors to let out life; I shall find one.' But the children. That's what I struggle with.' He shook his head. 'Why the children? — Ruta Sepetys

What had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us? — Ruta Sepetys

I was surrounded by hundreds of drowned children, heads in the water, their little feet in the air.
All the little duckies, with their heads in the water
Heads in the water.
It was my punishment. Honor lost. Everything lost.
Shame is a hunter.
My shame was all around me now. — Ruta Sepetys

I had said too much. He was giving me the look. I hated the look. It was the "You've had it tough, huh, kid?" look. It made me feel pathetic. — Ruta Sepetys

Shelves without books were lonely and just plain wrong. — Ruta Sepetys

Good men are often more practical than pretty " said Mother. "Andrius just happens to be both. — Ruta Sepetys

Why you frettin', Jo? You not sure?"
I inhaled my tears in order to speak. "I'm sure I want to go, but I'm not sure it's possible.Why would they accept me? And if they did, how would I pay for it? I don't want to get my hopes up only to be disappointed. I'm always disappointed."
"Now don't let fear keep you in New Orleans. Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin' we're goin' one place and we end up another. But that's okay. The important thing is to start. I know you can do it. Come on, Josie girl, give those ol' wings a try."
"Willie doesn't want me to."
"So what, you gonna stay here just so you can clean her house and run around with all the naked crazies in the Quarter? You got a bigger story than that. — Ruta Sepetys

One day when I was fourteen, I told Charlie that I hated Mother. "Don't hate her, Jo," he told me. "Feel sorry for her. She's not near as smart as you. She wasn't born with your compass, so she wanders around, bumping into all sorts of walls. That's sad." I understood what he meant, and it made me see Mother differently. But wasn't there some sort of rule that said parents had to be smarter than their kids? It didn't seem fair. — Ruta Sepetys

I watched from the raft as the beautiful deep began to swallow the massive boat of steel.
In one large gulp." Emilia p341 — Ruta Sepetys

Was it harder to die, or harder to be the one who survived? — Ruta Sepetys

You got to get outta here, Josie. New Orleans is fine for some people, real good for a few. But not for you. Too much baggage that'll pull you down. You got dreams and the potential to make 'em real. — Ruta Sepetys

I'm a binge writer. I work in the music business fulltime, in artist management and developing songwriters and recording artists, and so juggling my job I carve out as much time as I can on the weekends. — Ruta Sepetys

War had rearranged my priorities. I now clung to memories more than goals or material things. But there were a few irreplaceable items that buoyed my spirit and fight for life. It was at that moment that I realized. Something was missing from my suitcase. — Ruta Sepetys

Revolting. If women were so careless to become pregnant at such a time, let women sort it out. — Ruta Sepetys

Somehow I had to turn the salted peanuts in the cigar box into petits fours. — Ruta Sepetys

May your fingers never know a fist. May your ears never ring with the call of duty. Before this war is over, all men will have an opportunity to reveal their true selves. I welcome that opportunity. To be a hero requires difficult choices and sacrifice. Each man can respond only when the finger of bravery curls and beckons him forth. That finger, it beckons me, Hannelore. I feel it. — Ruta Sepetys

What was creepier, a man who loved clip-on ties or a girl who kept a log of fantasy fathers hidden in her desk drawer? — Ruta Sepetys

A wrongdoing doesn't give you the right to do wrong. You know that. — Ruta Sepetys

How did I get here How did I end up in the arms of a boy I barely knew but knew I didn't want to lose I wondered what I would have thought of Andrius in Lithuania. Would I have liked him Would he have liked me — Ruta Sepetys

I knew the legends of the birds. Seagulls were the souls of dead soldiers. Owls were the souls of women. Doves were the recently departed souls of unmarried girls.
Was there a bird for the souls of people like me? — Ruta Sepetys

Krasivaya. It means beautiful, but with strength. Unique. — Ruta Sepetys

I managed to escape the NKVD while sitting right in front of them. — Ruta Sepetys

No Son [ ... ] Not a traitor to your country. Much worse. A traitor to your soul. — Ruta Sepetys

Tadas was sent to the principal today," announced Jonas at dinner. He wedged a huge piece of sausage into his small mouth.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because he talked about hell," sputtered Jonas, juice from the plump sausage dribbling down his chin.
"Jonas, don't speak with your mouth full. Take smaller pieces," scolded Mother.
"Sorry," said Jonas with his moth stuffed. "It's good." He finished chewing. I took a bite of sausage. It was warm and the skin was deliciously salty.
"Tadas told one of the girls that hell is the worst place ever and there's no escape for all eternity."
"Now why would Tadas be talking of hell?" asked Papa, reaching for the vegetables.
"Because his father told him that if Stalin comes to Lithuania, we'll all end up there. — Ruta Sepetys

You think of nothing but yourself. If you want to kill yourself, what's keeping you?' I said. Silence sat between out stares.
'Fear,' he said. — Ruta Sepetys

But we escaped into a stillness within ourselves. We found strenght there. — Ruta Sepetys

Be in control of your piece, Jo. The minute it takes control of you, you're dead, Willie would tell me. — Ruta Sepetys

You'll have champagne. All girls like champagne.
All girls didn't like champagne. I preferred root beer. Willie preferred anything that smelled like gasoline and burned her throat. She could hold her liquor better than any man, and I wished she was there to help me navigate John Lockwell. — Ruta Sepetys

Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness. — Ruta Sepetys

Abandoned or separated from their families, they were forced to battle the beast of war on their own, left with an inheritance of heartache and resposibility for events they had no rile in causing. — Ruta Sepetys

My breathing slowed. I shaded her thick chestnut hair resting in a smooth curve against her face, a large bruise blazing across her cheek. I paused, looking over my shoulder to make certain I was alone. I drew her eye makeup, smudged by tears. In her watery eyes I drew the reflection of the commander, standing in front of her, his fist clenched. I continued to sketch, exhaled, and shook out my hands. — Ruta Sepetys

You stand for what is right, Lina, without the expectation of gratitude or reward. — Ruta Sepetys

Papa said scientists speculated that from the moon, the earth looked blue. That night I believed it. I would draw it blue and heavy with tears. — Ruta Sepetys

Massachusetts has no idea what's coming for them. I bet you'll be the first Mae West they've ever had. — Ruta Sepetys

This town will eat you up if you're not careful. But I won't be here forever. — Ruta Sepetys