Quotes by Melina Marchetta

In an instant he forgot Joes poem about Japan except the part about you are the bell, and I am the tongue of the bell, ringing you, and a new sound entered his life, like when he was a kid and he first heard the sound of horses clip-clopping and he asked his mother in wonder, Whats that sound, because Ive never heard it before?

Im scared to die, I whispered as Michael walked in.He was scared to live, he said kissing my forehead.

Ive been waiting for you all night and day, she said.Froi shivered. He realised that the words came from Quintana the ice maiden. Realised, as he felt his face heating up, that the idea of this Quintana waiting for him with excitement spoke to parts of him he believed to be dormant. And then she winked.Did I do that right? she asked. Her smile was lopsided and he saw a glimpse of the teeth.And Froi imagined that he would follow her to the ends of the earth.

Somehow, even in the worst of times, the tiniest fragments of good survive. It was the grip in which one held those fragments that counted.

He just watched the way Finnikin’s hands rested on Evanjalin’s neck and he rubbed his thumb along her jaw and the way his tongue seemed to disappear inside her mouth as if he needed a part of her to breathe himself.

And at that moment Jude thought something that he would never forgive himself for.He wished that he had never met any of them.

As he left Yata’s home that morning, he knew that a part of his life was complete and that whatever path he chose, he would experience the ache of unfulfilled dreams. For a moment he allowed himself to feel regret at the thought of never building a cottage by the river with Trevanion. Or living the life of a simple farmer connected to the earth. Or traveling his kingdom, satisfying the nomad he had become. To be Finnikin of the Rock and the Monts and the River and the Flatlands and the Forest. To be none of those at all.Yet he also knew that to lose her to another man would be a slow torture every day for the rest of his life.

But I want to give in to it sometimes, only because Im tired and the feeling that Ive had for a while-that something is haunting me down-becomes all consuming and Im frightened that one morning there will be not enough to keep me going.

If she allowed herself to give in to the whole sadness of it, shed never ever be able to operate like a normal person again.

The pages arent numbered, so I dont know whether I have the beginning or end or whether its in sequence but these days Im not really looking for continuity.All Im after is something that makes sense to me.

Its Thursday afternoon, and we have sports. These are the choices for the girls: watching an invitational cricket game; studying in one of the classrooms; or watching the senior rugby league. As you can imagine, Im torn.

I hope youre not smoking in front of her, Lucia says to him.Yeah, I lie in bed and puff in her face, Lucia, he says, irritated.

I never thought meeting you would be this boring. I thought wed put our Italian emotion into gear and scream the place down. I never expected indifference.

I met this boy here who I knew as a kid and his mum left him with a pedophile for two weeks when he was eight years old and Im presuming you know everything there is to know about Jonahs father, and that my father is dead, and my mother hasnt been around for years, and God knows Jessas real story. So what Im saying here, Sergeant, is that were just a tad low on the reliable adult quota so you have no right to be all self-righteous about what Chaz did and if youre going to go around not talking to him when his only crime was wanting me to have what he has, then I think youre going to turn out to be a bit of a dud and you know something? Im just a bit over lifes little disappointments right now. Do you understand what Im saying?

I hear Mr. Palmer tell Hannah that it was an electrical fault. Five arsonists in one school and it ends up being something so technically boring.

But then Froi looked back to where his work lay unfinished and it made him sad because there had been something about the touch of earth in his hands that made him feel worthwhile.

But Froi looked around with wonder. As if he had never seen the world from up so high before.

I determine my own worth. If I had to rely on others, Id have lain down and died waiting.

If Froi understood anything, it was that in this world ones worth came from others.

Because today, I think Im leaning on the side of wonder.