Melina Marchetta citations

Page 3

“She asked me what type of contraceptive I use.
Underwear. Keeping it on prevents pregnancy.”

“Because people with that much spirit frighten the hell out of me. They make me want to be a better person when I know it's not possible.”

“Oh God, Frankie, I breathe in rhythm with that man. You think that's not my flesh and blood after all these years?”

“Don't let anyone take care of you. Can you maybe leave that for me to do? I mean, take care of you? Feel free to take care of me in return… because I think I'll need you to do that.”

“Your problems are out there. But they're small. They only grow out of proportion when they climb inside your head.”

“See, I remember love. That's what people don't understand.”

“Someone asked us later, "Didn't you wonder why no one came across you sooner?"
Did I wonder?
When you see your parents zipped up in black body bags on the Jellicoe Road like they're some kind of garbage, don't you know?
Wonder dies.”

“I'm beginning to realize that things don't turn out the way you want them to. And sometimes, when they don't they can turn out just a little bit better.”

“We approach the house and I wave at Jimmy.
"And if he thinks he's eating with us, he's got another thing coming," my dad says.
Jimmy approaches us and takes the shopping bags from me, looking inside them.
"Lamb roast. Am I invited?”

“Balthazar pledged to die defending his royal house of Lumuatere. Finnikin swore to be their protector and guide for as long as he lived. Lucian vowed he would be the light whom they traveled toward in times of need.”

“But she stepped forward and placed a finger to his lips and there it was before him. The greatest prayer to the gods he could muster with a heart so broken.”

“I'm not interested in those who do me wrong. There's not enough time in the day for them.”

“He bursts out laughing. It's short, as if he regretted allowing me to make him laugh, but the satisfaction's already mine.”

“The gods do make playthings of us… but it is we mortals who provide them with the tools.”

“Land?' Froi whispered. 'You're giving them land? I'm not worth the valley.'

'You're worth a kingdom,' Finnikin said, turning back to the crowd.”

“And life goes on, which seems kind of strange and cruel when you're watching someone die. But there's a joy and an abundance of everything, like information and laughter and summer weather and so many stories.”

“So between you and me," I tell Justine on the phone that night, "we're either bitchy or stupid."
"Oh God," she moans. "Everyone thinks I'm an idiot."
"Thanks!”

“You don't die. You just… get really angry and then after you're angry you hurt a lot and then the best thing is that one day you remember something she said or did and you laugh instead of crying.”

“And when you'd finished running you'd be thousands of miles away from people who love you and your problem would still be there except you'd have nobody to help you.”

“Everything is evil that humans can't control or conquer”

“Then I choose to drown. In hope. Rather than float into nothing.”

“Because being so dependent on people scares me.”

“To have somone hold you could be the greatest medicine of all.”

“Where did this come from? Do you know what this is? Luca is going to sneak out of bed in the middle of the night and squirt it on his tongue. It's like drugs for ten-year-olds. Today it's Ice Magic. Tomorrow, heroin.”

“It's like you have a plan and someone comes along and makes you want to change it all, but you still like your first plan, no matter how fantastic the second one makes you feel.”

“A home to come back to every day of their lives.
Where they would all belong or long to be.
A place on the Jellicoe Road.”

“She's tired and leans her head on his shoulder, which is the resting place for all their heads, but when Justine and Siobhan and Francesca use his body so shamelessly he doesn't feel the need to turn his head and press his mouth against their hair.”

“Some of us weren't born for rewards, Froi. We were born for sacrifices.”

“He took her face in his bloody hands. "I’ll come and find you wherever you are. I’ll not stop breathing until I do. So you’re going to have to promise me that you won’t lose hope. That you will keep yourself alive.”