Holly Black: Thing

“You are the only thing I have that is neither duty nor obligation, the only thing I chose for myself. The only thing I want.”

“We all wind up drawn to what we're afraid of, drawn to try to find a way to make ourselves safe from a thing by crawling inside of it, by loving it, by becoming it.”

“Even from the beginning, that was the problem. People liked pretty things. People even liked pretty things that wanted to kill and eat them.”

“They say that nameless things change constantly—that names fix them in place like pins.”

“You can break a thing, but you cannot always guide it afterward into the shape you want.”

“The moment she was cursed, I lost her. Once it wears off- soon- she will be embarrassed to remember things that she said, things she did, things like this. No matter how solid she feels in my arms, she is made of smoke.”

“So I'm scared, because you're not just not human, you're not like anyone…. there's nobody like you in all the world and it's you I want. I want you and I hate wanting things and I especially hate admitting I want them.”

“Jewels, lies, slips of paper, dried flowers, memories of thing long past, useless quotations, idle hands, beads, buttons, and mischief.”

“I like all the things that make you monstrous.”

“They say that nameless things change constantly -that names fix them in place like pins. But without a name, a thing isn't quite real either.”

“Sometimes I felt like I was waiting for my life to begin and more than anything, in that moment, I wanted to force some kind of beginning. I wanted things to be different than usual. I wanted to bend reality.”

“If we have to be cat burglars, I'm going to see what' to steal in the fridge."
We're trying to find evidence she's the poisoner. Just a thought before you start putting random things in your mouth." Ruth shrugged and walked past Val.”

“Great. Lookout. I'm a lookout. Another thing to put on my college applications. What do I do if I see someone?"
Val looked back. "I'm not sure, actually.”

“I want you and I hate wanting things and I especially hate admitting I want them.”

“I did it to get what I want. Maybe I should regret that, but I can’t. Sometimes you do the bad thing and hope for the good result.”

“I'm going to take off your gag. And if you try to bite me or grab me or anything, I'll hit you with this thing as hard as I can as many times as I can. Understood?”