Jackie Morse Kessler Quotes

“Living means constantly growing closer to death. Satisfaction only temporarily relieves hunger. Find the balance, and plant your feet.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“IF YOU HAVE EVER LOOKED IN THE MIRROR
AND HATED WHAT YOUSAW,THIS BOOK
IS FOR YOU.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

Thou art hunger, yo. Make with the starvation.

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“She wanted to have him hold her and tell her all the demons were pretend, that there was no monster in her closet, that everything would be okay. But that was a lie. The demon was in her head, telling her she was too fat. She had to get the demon out. But she couldn't do it by herself.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“A smile flitted across War's mouth, hidden by her helmet. She had little patience for religion (although she approved heartily of the religious fanatics who sought to cleanse the world of heresy), and the only faith War had was in cold steel and hot blood.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

Fear is sweat, but terror is addictive.

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“She let out a laugh, one that scraped her throat and bled on her tongue.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“THEY WILL ALL BETRAY YOU, War said.
And they would. Whether it was her teachers or her friends or her family, they would all betray her. Maybe it would be couched in helpful terms, and maybe their faces would be brimming with sympathy. But in the end, they would all let her down.
They would all cut her down.
They would all slap labels on her and spoon-feed her appropriate words, wipe her mouth with their expectations. They
would wind her up and make her dance, and when they were done they'd put her away. They would keep doing it and doing it, until she was nothing more than a shell, a skin, something to slip on and slip off and tuck in at the corners.
They would ... unless she stopped them.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“YOU DEMAND SALVATION EVEN AS YOU STEAL FROM THE COLLECTION PLATE.
YOU SEND FOOD TO THE REFUGEES, AND THEN YOU DON'T ALLOW THE DELIVERY TRUCKS THROUGH THE WARZONES. THE FOOD WILL SPOIL , THE SUPPLIES WILL BE SOLD BY THE VICTORS . THE CIVILIANS WILL STARVE AND SICKEN AND EVENTUALLY DIE.
IT IS THE WAY OF THINGS. THEY WILL ALL DIE, WHETHER FROM THE BRUTAL SAVAGERY THAT IS UNIQUE TO MAN OR FROM THE ABUNDANCE OF DISEASE OR FROM THE SCARCITY OF SUSTENANCE.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

In a rush, the world opened its mouth to her-and it was screaming.
Everywhere-the air around her, the ground beneath her, the stars above-rippled with the soul-wrenching cries of
hunger: the trees and bushes and plants all twisted and bent, their branches and stems clawing the sky in skeletal panic; the
animals and insects, flying and crawling and burrowing, each frantic in its own way, searching incessantly to end the gnawing
demand in its belly; the swarms of people, clotting the world, stuffing themselves only to beg for more, be it food or wealth or
attention-all of them, desperate, insatiable. So very hungry.
All of them, leeching on to her. Sucking her dry.

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“He let out another chuckle, one that slithered up her spine and wrapped around her throat.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“Melissa Miller, sixteen and a self-injurer, looked upon the embodiment of her rage. "I accept you," Missy said, opening her arms wide. "I accept me.”

— Jackie Morse Kessler

His voice, dark and velvety soft, intimate and yet cold: You have blood on your hands.

— Jackie Morse Kessler

“THREE DAYS TO DEAD is one of the best books I've read. Ever. Evy Stone is a heroine's heroine, and I rooted for her from the moment I met her. Kelly Meding has written a phenomenal story, one that's fast-paced, gritty, and utterly addictive. Brava! More! More! More!”

— Jackie Morse Kessler