01c. 1967 ADKillers aren't always assassins. Sometimes, they don't even have blood on their hands.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
02c. 1967 ADGood men are often more practical than pretty " said Mother. "Andrius just happens to be both.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
03c. 1967 ADHow 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 meRuta Sepetys / quote ↗
04c. 1967 ADI felt as if I were riding a pendulum. Just as I would swing into the abyss of hopelessness, the pendulum would swing back with some small goodness.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
06c. 1967 ADThey were happy to help someone, to succeed at something, even if they weren't to benefit.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
07c. 1967 ADI leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
08c. 1967 ADWe 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 / quote ↗
09c. 1967 ADI didn't need his criticism. I carried enough guilt on my own. I had done everything wrong. I had the highest marks in school but couldn't master common sense.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
10c. 1967 ADWhat did I want? I wanted the war to be over so I could ask her out.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
11c. 1967 ADJust when you think this war has taken everything you loved, you meet someone and realize that somehow you still have more to give.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
12c. 1967 ADThe soldier stared at Ingrid. His silence was elastic, slowly curling a rope around her neck.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
13c. 1967 ADRevolting. If women were so careless to become pregnant at such a time, let women sort it out.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
15c. 1967 ADMother, why are you breaking your beautiful things?' I asked...'Because I love them so much.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
16c. 1967 ADEveryone has a price,” she said.“But clearly not everyone has a soul,Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
17c. 1967 ADI 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 / quote ↗
18c. 1967 ADEvery nation has hidden history, countless stories preserved only by those who experienced them. Stories of war are often read and discussed worldwide by readers whose nations stood on opposite sides during battle. History divided us, but through reading we can be united in story, study, and remembrance. Books join us together as a global reading community, but more important, a global human community striving to learn from the past.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
19c. 1967 ADWar had bled color from everything, leaving nothing but a storm of gray.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
20c. 1967 ADIn 1991, after fifty years of brutal occupation, the three Baltic countries regained their independence, peacefully and with dignity. They chose hope over hate and showed the world that even through the darkest night, there is light. These three tiny nations have taught us that love is the most powerful army. Whether love of a friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy- love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
21c. 1967 ADWhat had human beings become? Did war make us evil or just activate an evil already lurking within us?Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
22c. 1967 ADMy war had been so long, my winter so cold. But i had made it home. And for the first time in a long time, i was not afraid.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
23c. 1967 ADI wanted to stay locked away from the pain and destruction. I didn't want to be strong. I didn't want to be the 'smart girl'. I was so very tired. I just wanted it all to be over.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
24c. 1967 ADMother was anchor. Mother was comfort. Mother was home. A girl who lost her mother was suddenly a tiny boat on an angry ocean. Some boats eventually floated ashore. And some boats, like me, seemed to float farther and farther from land.Ruta Sepetys / quote ↗
