Top 100 Dessen's Quotes
#1. No word has one specific definition.Maybe in the dictionary, but not in real life
-Ms.Conyers of Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key
Sarah Dessen
#2. Love is an excuse to put up with the shit that you shouldn't. That's how it gets you. It throws off the scales so that things that should weigh heavily don't seem to. It's a crock. A trap.
Sarah Dessen
#3. I think when you're a beginning author with any publishing company, there's only so much they can put behind you.
Sarah Dessen
#4. Fifteen minutes later, a meeting was called.
"Okay, look." Deb's face was dead serious. "I know I just joined this project, and I don't want to offend anyone. But I'm going to be honest. I think you've been going about this all wrong."
"I'm offended," Dave told her flatly.
Sarah Dessen
#5. I was used to being invisible. People rarely saw me, and if they did, they never looked close. I wasn't shiny and charming like my brother, stunning and graceful like my mother, or smart and dynamic like my friends. That's the thing, though. You always think you want to be noticed. Until you are.
Sarah Dessen
#6. I've seen what commitment leads to, and it isn't pretty. Going in is the easy part. It's the endings that suck.
Sarah Dessen
#8. This thought was interrupted, suddenly, by a crash from the front entrance. We all looked over just in time to see Adam bending back from the glass, rubbing his arm.
"Pull open," Maggie called out. As Leah rolled her eyes, she said, "He never remembers. It's so weird.
Sarah Dessen
#9. See for me, it's immediate. Silence is so freaking loud.' This seemed either deep or deeply oxymoronic. I wasn't sure which.
Sarah Dessen
#10. That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking.
Sarah Dessen
#12. What was the name of Pygmalion's sister?"
She blinked, twice, obviously surprised. "Ummm," she said, keeping her eyes on me. "I don't know."
Rogerson did," I told her. "Rogerson knew everything.
Sarah Dessen
#13. You know," I told him,"if you don't know how to eat a cupcake, that's nothing to be ashamed of."
Now he did smile. "I know how to eat a cupcake."
"Sure you do."
"I do," he said. "I just don't want one of those."
"Yeah? Prove it.
Sarah Dessen
#14. I'm really interested in the idea of anomynity and familiarity. And sunglasses, you know, are so indicatitve of that. I mean, they're worn by some people to hide themselves. But they're also a fashion statement, meant to be noticed. So there's a dichotomy there.
Sarah Dessen
#15. I've changed in my sympathies since I've become a mother myself. In high school I went through a period where I was close with my mom and had to break with her in order to find myself and come back. Since that was my experience, that's often what happens in my books.
Sarah Dessen
#16. Sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. Even if it's not what we want, at least it's something.
Sarah Dessen
#18. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. It's so easy in the past tense.
Sarah Dessen
#19. I understood now. This voice, the one that had been trying to get my attention all this time, calling out to me, begging me to hear it
it wan't Will's. It was mine.
Sarah Dessen
#20. Just because someone's pretty, doesn't mean she's decent.
Sarah Dessen
#21. Only a real asshole takes liberties with someone else's car stereo. That's serious.
Sarah Dessen
#22. You know, feeling and action are always linked, one can't exist without the other. It's sort of a hippie thing.-Wes
Sarah Dessen
#23. There's something nice about the silence of a car ride in the dark, going home. When you were tired of the radio and conversation, and it was okay to just be alone with your thoughts and the road ahead. If you're that comfortable with someone, you don't have to talk.
Sarah Dessen
#24. It is kind of hard to hold a lot in. But for me ... it's sometimes even harder to let it out.
Sarah Dessen
#25. It's hard to be nice when the rest of the world is so mean.
Sarah Dessen
#26. Who would have thought that grieving an old relationship and enjoying a new one could happen simultaneously, in parallel? Yet another thing you only find out once it's happening to you.
Sarah Dessen
#27. It's a big deal when you finally get the chance to do the one thing you want to do -need to do- more than anything. It can kind of scare the crap out of you.
Sarah Dessen
#28. Having no expectations for some people in your life can be depressing, if not devastating. But with others, it's what is necessary. The hard part is not just figuring out which one applies, but accepting it.
Sarah Dessen
#29. But it's important to acknowledge that while we may make mistakes, in the long run, we may also learn from them.
Sarah Dessen
#30. It's funny how someone's perception of you can be formed without you even knowing it.
Sarah Dessen
#31. It's pretty rare to find someone you actually like to be with in this world. There are a lot of annoying people out there.
Sarah Dessen
#32. Oh for God's sake,' Heather said, 'I wish you two would just go out, fail miserably as a couple, and get it over with.
Sarah Dessen
#33. But unfriendly is usually one of those things you pick up on right away. You know, like B.O. There's no hiding it if it's there.
Sarah Dessen
#34. I've seen what commitment leads to. Going in is the easy part. It's the ending that sucks!
-Remy
Sarah Dessen
#35. I really just love to read, period, whether it be books or magazines or the back of the cereal box. It's the one thing I can always count on to calm me down, take me away and inspire me, all at once.
Sarah Dessen
#36. It's you who i have thought of when i am at
my weakest & you who have pulled me through
Sarah Dessen
#37. It's harder that in looks," I told him when I finally got back in the car.
"Most things are,
Sarah Dessen
#38. If someone is really close with you, your getting upset or them getting upset is okay, and they don't change because of it. It's just part of the relationship. It happens. You deal with it.
Sarah Dessen
#39. We can't expect everybody to be there for us, all at once. So it's a lucky thing that really, all you need is someone.
Sarah Dessen
#40. I think part of the problem sometimes is that there's so much happening in my books, to whittle it down into a single script is hard.
Sarah Dessen
#41. This isn't about him. It's about you. You shouldn't do anything you're not ready for.
Sarah Dessen
#42. To me she said, "It's this stupid gotcha thing, they've been doing it for weeks now. Leaping out at each other and us, scaring the hell out of everyone."
"It's a game of wits," Bert said to me.
"Half-wits," Kristy added.
Sarah Dessen
#43. It's nice to have options even if you can't take them.
Sarah Dessen
#44. I've always known who I am. I might not work perfectly, or be like them, but that's okay. I know I work in my own way.
Sarah Dessen
#46. Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that's what makes you strong.
Sarah Dessen
#47. I mean, at least with an argument, you know what's happening. Or have some idea. Silence is ... it could be anything.
Sarah Dessen
#48. When faced with the scariest of things, all you want to do is turn away, hide in your own invisible place. But you can't. That's why it's not only important for us to be seen, but to have someone to look for us, as well.
Sarah Dessen
#49. Life's too short to worry about the little things. Enjoy what you have today, not what you might get tomorrow
Sarah Dessen
#50. I planned my whole future around Adam," she said now, quietly. "And now I have nothing." "No," I told her, "now you just don't have Adam. There's a big difference, Lissa. You just can't see it yet.
Sarah Dessen
#51. Life is full of screwups," he said, chucking another paper at the split-level before taking the corner. "You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence.
Sarah Dessen
#52. Look, the point is there's no way to be a hundred percent sure about anyone or anything. So you're left with a choice. Either hope for the best or just expect the worst.
Sarah Dessen
#53. It's hard to do," I said. Wes looked at me. "What is?" I swallowed, not sure why I'd said this out loud. "Get it right.
Sarah Dessen
#54. Hey, and for what it's worth? Friends don't leave you alone in the woods. Friends are the ones who come and take you out.
Sarah Dessen
#55. I think my biggest problem, though, at least in drafts, is not repeating myself. After eight books I get worried that a character or piece of dialog might be too much like something I've already done. So it's a challenge to keep it fresh.
Sarah Dessen
#56. There's just something obvious about emptiness, even when you try to convince yourself otherwise.
Sarah Dessen
#57. I think she loves him," Lissa said. "And love is needing someone.
Love is putting up with someone's
bad qualities because they somehow complete you."
"Love is an excuse to put up with shit that you shouldn't," I replied,
Sarah Dessen
#58. You know, when it works, love is amazing. It's not overrated.
Sarah Dessen
#59. But sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. Even if it's not what we want, at least it's something. You know?
Sarah Dessen
#60. I can't sit and twiddle my thumbs. I have to start writing even if it's miserable some days.
Sarah Dessen
#61. I wasn't shiny and charming like my brother, stunning and graceful like my mother, or smart and dynamic like my friends. That's the thing though. You always thing you want to be noticed...until you are.
Sarah Dessen
#62. I want you to give her a possibility. And that's what a key represents. An open door, a chance.
Sarah Dessen
#63. Who says there has to be a point?" He asked. "Or a reason. Maybe it's just something you have to do.
Sarah Dessen
#64. You asked me to go out with you. I know you probably changed your mind. But you should know, the answer was yes. It's always been yes when it comes to you.
Sarah Dessen
#65. But I always worked harder when I was up against something, or when someone assumed I couldn't succeed. That's what drove me, all those nights studying. The fact that so many figured I couldn't do it.
Sarah Dessen
#66. Yeah. I mean, acknowledging is easy. Something happened or it didn't. But understanding ... that's where things get sticky.
Sarah Dessen
#67. Together, we looked down at the tiny house, the sole thing on this vast, flat surface. Like the only person living on the moon. It could be either lonely or peaceful, depending on how you looked at it. "It's a start," I said.
Sarah Dessen
#68. It's not always easy being her daughter.'
I think,' she said, 'sometimes it's hard no matter whose daughter you are.
Sarah Dessen
#69. It's gonna be okay," I said. It was the first time in a long time that I believed it. "It will.
Sarah Dessen
#70. Look," he said, "the point is there's no way to be a hundred percent sure about anyone or anything. So you're left with a choice. Either hope for the best, or just expect the worst."
If you expect the worst, you're never disappointed," I pointed out.
Yeah, but who lives like that?
Sarah Dessen
#71. I don't talk about my books while I'm writing them: not even my husband knows what a novel's about until it's done.
Sarah Dessen
#72. You really get to meet people on such a personal level. There's a real bonding in someone beating the crap out of you.
Sarah Dessen
#73. It's just that ... I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It's the universe's way of providing contrast, you know? There have to be a few holes in the road. It's how life is.
Sarah Dessen
#75. My point is,' Jamie continued, 'not everything's perfect, especially at the beginning. And it's all right to have a little bit of regret every once in a while. It's when you feel it all the time and can't do anything about it ... that's when you get into trouble.'
pg 169-170
Sarah Dessen
#76. I'm really happy to have the chance to talk about the editing process. It's something that I think doesn't get the weight it deserves, especially with the rise of self-publishing.
Sarah Dessen
#77. He doesn't love me. He might still love me as I was at fifteen, when I didn't know any better. When I trusted everyone. I'm not that person any more. He's just a boy. He was the first to really hurt me, but he's just a boy. There were a lot of them.
Sarah Dessen
#78. It's always very pure, that last moment before an ugly, unsettling truth hits someone. The most stark of before-and-afters.
Sarah Dessen
#79. Maybe it was just part of growing up with someone. Once you have a rhythm and stay with it long enough, it's not hard to find again.
Sarah Dessen
#80. That's not a real answer.'
Says who?'
Says me. I mean real fear, like of failure, of death, of regret. Like that. Something that keeps you awake nights, questioning your very existence.'
Clowns.
Sarah Dessen
#81. I know you guys have some sort of weird thing going on, with that game you play and everything - "
"It's called a friendship.
Sarah Dessen
#82. With love like that, you can't get pick about how it finds you or the details. All that matters is that it's there. Better late than never.
Sarah Dessen
#83. I find that the more I depend on real life, the less interesting the story is. It's much more common for me to take something that almost-happened, or I wish had happened, and then follow that possibility.
Sarah Dessen
#84. You know, when it works, love is pretty amazing. It's not overrated. There's a reason for all those songs.
Sarah Dessen
#85. From what I could see, the hardwood was just fine. Then again, I'd just see a windmill and an open sky, too, never feeling the need to conquer either. You think it's all obvious and straightforward, this world. But really, it's all in who is doing the looking.
Sarah Dessen
#86. Now, see," Wes said, nodding at my plate, "this is going to blow your mind."
I looked at him. "It's a waffle, not the second coming.
Sarah Dessen
#87. He's getting dumped. And he doesn't even know it yet. He's probably eating a cheeseburger or flossing or picking up his dry cleaning, and he has no idea. No inkling.
Sarah Dessen
#88. Lost means forever, it's gone. But misplaced ... that means it's still around, somewhere.
Sarah Dessen
#89. Love is so unpredictable. Sometimes you'll know a man for years and then one day, boom! Suddenly you see him in a different way. And other times, it's that first date, that first moment. That's what makes it so great.
Sarah Dessen
#90. I have to admit, an unrequited love is so much better than a real one. I mean, it's perfect ... As long as something is never even started, you never have to worry about it ending. It has endless potential.
Sarah Dessen
#91. We were there, together, and in the next room I could hear that monitor beeping. Keeping track of another heart's beat and giving enduring, solid proof of our own.
Sarah Dessen
#92. When someone starts to change, and it's obvious, it's sort of natural to wonder why. Right?
Sarah Dessen
#93. It felt like I'd taken everything for granted up until right now, when suddenly my entire world and all in it became precious and fleeting. I should have paid more attention, soaked it in more. Which you always realize once it's getting too late to do just that.
Sarah Dessen
#94. You said the other day life was long,' I shot back. 'Which is it?'
'It's both,' she said, shrugging. 'It all depends on how you choose to live it. It's like forever, always changing.'
Kristy and Macy; p.135
Sarah Dessen
#95. We can't be sad about it forever, you know? We've got to think back to the good times and just remember them; that's all we can do. We can't worry about the past or what happened at the end, any more. I can't and you can't.
Sarah Dessen
#96. There's no shame in trying to make stuff work, is how I see it. It's better than just accepting the broken.
Sarah Dessen
#97. You want me to give her a key?" the guy asked.
"I want you to give her a possibility," she told him, looking at my necklace again. "And that's what a key represents. An open door, a chance. You know?
Sarah Dessen
#99. I mean, to me, freaking out is different. More of a running away, not telling anyone what's wrong, slowly simmering until you burst kind of thing.
Sarah Dessen
#100. It was Isabel's main accessory as she dashed in late to work, always with two or three CDs, usually new, tucked under her arm. At night, when I crawled out on my rooftop, it was what I heard first,
Sarah Dessen
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