Aru Shah Quotes

A particularly good book has a way of opening new spaces in one's mind. It even invited you to come back later and rummage through what you'd learn.

It is not failure to fail.

It was one of the things that she liked best when her mother told her the stories: villains could be heroic, and heroes could do evil.

Sometimes light illuminates things that are better left in the dark.

Tales are slippery, her mother had often said. The truth of a story depends on who is telling it.

I believe that the world could be different. I believe that our destinies aren't chains around our necks, but wings that give us flight.

People are a lot like magical pockets. They're a lot bigger on the inside than they appear to be on the outside.

Death is like a parking lot. You stay there for just a bit and then go somewhere else.

Maybe that's why superheroes wore capes. Maybe they weren't capes at all, but safety blankets, like the one Aru kept at the bottom of her bed and pulled up under her chin before she went to sleep. Maybe superheroes just tied their blankies around their necks so they'd have a little bit of comfort wherever they went. Because honestly? Saving the world was scary. No harm admitting that.

This is what we get for thinking that scaley orange skin and fake hair could keep that former demon out of elected office.

You are the Daughter of Death," hissed Aru. "You don't walk into a telephone pole because of a boy.

Love looked different to everyone.

Secrets are curious things. They are flimsy and easily broken. For this reason, they prefer to remain hidden.

It is better, perhaps, to be thought of as a fiction than to be discarded from memory completely.

As Aru slipped away, she could've sworn she heard Aiden say "Maybe he didn't see you in the right light, Shah." But she must have been dreaming.

All I'm saying is that no one can take your place if you make room for them. Trust yourself more than you distrust others.

You will never be a hero. You were never meant to be a hero." Hero. that one word made Aru lift her chin. It made her think of Mini and Boo, her mom, and all the incredible things she herself had done in just nine days. Breaking the lamp hadn't been heroic... but everything else? Fighting for people she cared about and doing everything it took to fix her mistake? That was heroism. Vajra became a spear in her hand. "I already am. And it's heroine.

The world had a tendency to trick people.

It is when we stop listening, that we commit the greatest wrongs.

Memories are the grandest illusion of all.

Aru was twelve years old. Even she knew that half the time she didn't know what she was doing.

They said I would never remember how strong and powerful I am until someone reminded me," said Hanuman. "Sometimes I wonder if it is a curse that we are all under at some point or another.

More than anything she wanted the world to be uncomplicated, for right and wrong to be as easily divided as the black and white sections of an Oreo. But the world was not a cookie.

Sometimes you don't even know how special you might be. Sometimes it takes moments of horror or happiness to, if you will, unleash that knowledge.

Duh,” said Aru. “With great power comes great opportunity to annoy.

Hey"--I shrugged--"If Aru Shah can have adventures in her pajamas, why can't I?

Aru used to think that friends were there to share your food and keep your secrets and laugh at your jokes while you walked from one classroom to the next. Sometimes, though, the best kind of friend is the one who doesn't say anything but just sits beside you. It's enough.

Just be your own favorite person and then no one else's opinion really matters.

The pollution that accumulates upon my surface has no bearing on my soul.” Aru nodded to herself. Nice one. Maybe she’d use that excuse next time she didn’t feel like showering.

But worry for a friend can make ordinary circumstances extraordinary.

Does that mean I get to do magical things, too? Do I get powers? Or a cape?" "There shall be no capes." "A hat?" "No." "Theme song?" "Please stop.

Real life doesn't always sound like it should.

The things that scare us can also give us joy. We just have to learn how to see them in a different light.

Blood isn't the only thing that makes you related to someone

I hereby declare you an official…Potato.

Sometimes a weakness felt like a blade turned inward, but that meant it was sharp enough that when turned around, it could be a weapon. You just had to be willing to face it and adjust your grip. And that made it magic far more powerful than any celestial weapon.

True, but it never hurts to understand a place a little better. That’s why words are so important. They’re like a soul and a story all in one.

Remember, in one light something may seem monstrous, and in another it is perhaps not so terrible after all.

Fairness is like a multifaceted gem. Its appearance can vary, depending on the angle of the beholder.

Aru didn't want to see all those gray spaces between good and bad - she just wanted things to be easy.

I know you’re clever, but do you really think you’re going to outsmart the ocean?

When all other kinds of payment fail, never forget that a drop of kindness has far more weight more than gold.

Aru glared. 'Well, you swim in your own toilet!' The fish did not have an eyebrow to raise villainously. But its tone managed the effect well enough, 'And you'll never know when I use the ocean as a toilet. Enjoy the mystery.' It flapped its tail and swam off.

Rein in the optimism Shah, It's too much.

Uh, what kinda dragon are we talking about here?” said Aru nervously. “Like Smaug sitting on all his gold, or like a cute friendly little baby Norbert hanging out in Hagrid’s cauldron?

On the breeze, she could hear the final words of people who had died: 'No not yet!' And 'Please make sure someone remembers to feed Snowball.' And 'I hope someone clears my Internet browser.

Fairness is but an idea conceived by someone who has the power to make such pronouncements.

There are certain horrific moments in life when the only way to fix an awkward situation is to be awkward.

Aiden patted his back. “There, there, rich prince. I’m sorry there’s other rich people in the world.” Rudy sniffed. “It’s really hard.

Living things cannot help but be curious, to demand answers. There is a cost to opening doors that are meant to stay closed.

I don’t want it to be fine. Fine comes from the Latin finis, which means end. This feels a lot more like a beginning.

Someone once told me that just because you can’t have the life you wanted, you shouldn’t give up and fade out of existence. That’s how we become living ghosts—by never moving on.

The day was on its way to being uneventful. That should have been her first warning. The world has a tendency to trick people. It likes to make a day feel as bright and lazy as sun-warmed honey dripping down a jar as it waits until your guard is down... And that's when it strikes.

A Pandava must be so precise and so skilled that they can separate a shadow from its host! They can grab the wind! They are as swift as - ' 'A river!,' shouted Aru. Mini hollered, ' With the force of a great typhoon!' 'With all the strength of a raging fiiiiire - ' sang Brynne. 'STOP SINGING MULAN!' shouted Boo.

Are you strutting, Wifey?" asked Mini. Aiden suddenly slowed. Brynne looked him over and snorted. "Yup, he's definitely strutting." "Am not," said Aiden. "Yeah you are!" , said Aru, laughing. "Am not" "R-2-" "D-2-," said Aiden before giving up and shaking his head. "Why are you guys like this?" "Boredom," said Mini. "Belligerence," said Brynne. "Brilliance," said Aru. The three of them grinned at each other.

You are merely a child, and children are sometimes the cruelest of all.

Between a demon that could end the world and a seventh-grade girl, Aru (and probably most people) would choose the demon any day.

Why should I say thank you?" asked Mini. "I knew you could do it.

Dehhhhh-spaaaaa-cito! Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito!

We are all stitches in a fabric too vast to comprehend. But perhaps that is a good thing, for it means we are always exactly where we need to be.

I got breakfast covered,” she said. “Berries reduced in sugar and acid, fused with a blended nut butter and spread on toasted wheat.” “So…a PB and J?” asked Aiden.

No picking fights with things that randomly offend you,” he said to Brynne.

Answering a wrong with a wrong doesn't make it right.

People enjoy seeing other people feel bad. It makes them feel better about themselves.

Sometimes being strong demanded the courage to be weak.

Who are you?" Aru grinned. This was the moment she had been waiting for all her life. In school, the teachers always asked instead: What's you name? Now, finally, she could say her dream response to Who are you? "Your worst nightmare," she said in a deep Batman voice.

Four p.m. is like a basement. Wholly innocent in theory. But if you really think about a basement, it is cement poured over restless earth. It has smelly, unfinished spaces, and wooden beams that cast too-sharp shadows. It is something that says almost, but not quite. Four p.m. feels that way, too. Almost, but not quite afternoon anymore. Almost, but not quite evening yet. And it is the way of magic and nightmares to choose those almost-but-not-quite moments and wait.

When someone chose to see you only as small and weak, it made them careless. Careless enough not to notice when a small and weak thing crept past all their expectations and laid a trap they didn’t expect.

That doesn’t mean things happen without a reason. We just don’t always know what the reason is. The world is inscrutable. It doesn’t owe you answers. You should only concern yourself with doing your duty.

Climb the Ferris wheel?!” echoed Aru. “Do I look like Spider-Man to you?” “Well, you sometimes wear those pajamas…” said Mini. Brynne snorted. “What pajamas?” asked Aiden. Abandon conversation! screamed Aru’s brain. Abandon conversation!

She'd never been thanked, let alone HUGGED, after telling a lie. But maybe she hadn't lied at all. Maybe it wasn't lying as much as it was applying some imagination. Looking at something from a different angle. That wasn't such a bad thing.

A particularly good book had a way of opening new spaces in one's mind. It even invited you to come back later and rummage through what you'd learned.

GET OUT, YOU FLATTENED DISCOUNT ARTICHOKES!

Anger makes one blind to happiness.

Fights between good friends are a bit like lightning: a flash of anger and then it's fine.

What is fair and what is just do not always look the same.

Ah, time. The best cosmic joke in the universe.

Sometimes the best way to win is to walk away.

May your journey be bright but not blinding.

Are you saying the Sleeper left behind Horcruxes?" Aru demanded. "Yeah, I didn't sign up for a Horcrux hunt," said Rudy, looking for the exit.

I was angry for a long time. But my anger did nothing but cause another’s pain. Remember my story before you rush into war. If you fight with poison in your heart, you will lose sight of what it is you are fighting for.

Aiden managed a weak nod, dropping his arm from around Rudy’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he mumbled. “You’re my lead singer,” said Rudy proudly. “Nothing is happening to you.” “I’m also your cousin!

Families weren't like a box of standardized-test-taking number two pencils. Families were like a box of assorted-color Sharpie markers: different, kinda stinky (but not in a bad way), and permanent whether you liked it or not.

How would you describe yourself?" asked Tumburu. Aru consider this. And then, in a very measured voice, she said, "Kind." Brynne snorted. "You mean sneaky." "Uh, imaginative," said Mini, a touch defensively. "Very imaginative." No one asked you to elaborate! Aru said through the mind link, but her sisters only laughed. "Kinda weird," said Rudy. Aiden glanced at her. The corner of his mouth tipped up. "Chaotic.

We’re trapped in the mountains with no camping supplies—” Aiden reached into his backpack and pulled out a coin. He flipped it onto the ground, and three tents sprouted up immediately. Brynne scowled. “Okay, well, definitely no food—” Aiden dug out five protein bars and tossed them in front of the tents. Rudy stared at him. “Dude, what is in that bag?” “Precautionary stuff,” said Aiden simply.

Just because something is not fair does not mean it is without reason or even compassion.

Don't forget that misguided intentions are often the most dangerous.

No matter what happens to us, we have choices. We choose how to look at our lives. We choose what we can live with, and what we cannot, and only you can decide.

No one can take your place if you make room for them. Trust yourself more than you distrust others.

Once a story stops being told. it dies. Unless people find pieces of it later, polish them up, and breathe new life into them.

[Nightmares] grow in my land, after all,' said Ratri, pointing at the dark expanse of her realm. 'They are seeded with moments of doubt, watered with the pain of tears not shed, and pruned by the ghosts of paths not taken. But that does not make them true.

It wouldn't be a unicorn without a horn. That's what the word means! Uni, for one. And then corn for, you know, horn. One-horned." "Yeah, but they're supposed to be all peaceful and nice. Why would a unicorn need a horn? What's it do with it?" Mini turned red. "I dunno. For shooting off magic and stuff." "Or they use it to maul things." "Thats horrible, Aru" They're unicorns. They're perfect.

Next, a six-foot-tall revolving rack of personalized keychains shot out of the ground less than a foot away from Aru. She glared at it. “I’ve been wronged by you before,” she muttered. “Who are you talking to, Shah?” asked Aiden. “No one,” said Aru quickly.

Aiden really looked at her then. His eyes were wide and dark, but not pure black. There were flashes of blue iridescence in them, like in Urvashi's eyes. Maybe it was an apsara trait. It made sense to Aru. Apsaras spent so much time dancing in the night skies that maybe their eyes eventually mirrored them.

You know that book of poems I’m always carrying around? [...] In one of her poems, she calls hope the ‘thing with feathers,’ and I always think about that…. Maybe when we hope for something, the hope flies off to find whatever it is we’re thinking about…and then it brings it back to us. And when there’s nothing else we can do, at least we can hope.

We all have a role in life. Maybe we’re someone’s sibling or spouse, a teacher or a parent, a ruler or a warrior. And with that comes a duty to show up for the situations life throws at you! After that, you do your best and let everything else go. The outcome? Pfft. Not your problem. People’s opinions? Not the point! When you go home and look in the mirror, it’s your face you’ve got to look at. No one else’s.

Be honest,' said Yellow Stripe. 'Does this helmet make my head look fat?' 'Fat is not bad,' said Red Stripe, rolling his eyes. 'Stop looking at those magazine covers. They're totally enchanted.' Brynne paused to raise her left fist in solidarity and kept moving. 'I know, I know...but the covers are so shiny...' said Yellow Stripe.

Now, how do you think this door works ... ?” Brynne took one look at it and kicked it open. “Wait ... that’s it?” said Aru. “I thought there’d be more to it! Like in Lord of the Rings, where there’s a riddle door with the message ‘speak friend and enter.’ Except I can’t remember what friend is in Elvish.” Brynne rolled her eyes, but her smile was warm. She stepped through first. Aiden held open the door for Aru. As she walked past him, he said, “It’s mellon, by the way.” “Nerd.

Maybe that’s why superheroes wore capes. Maybe they weren’t actually capes at all, but safety blankets, like the one Aru kept at the bottom of her bed and pulled up under her chin before she went to sleep. Maybe superheroes just tied their blankies around their necks so they’d have a little bit of comfort wherever they went. Because honestly? Saving the world was scary. No harm admitting that. (And she could have done with her blankie right about then.)

Brynne Tvarika Lakshmi Balamuralikrishna Rao was a lot of things. She was an amazing cook, and a fierce wrestler. She had an awful temper and once tried to crack a cinder block just by barreling into it headfirst. Granted, she got knocked out for an hour, but the cinder block definitely had a line through it, so that was pretty much a win. Brynne was even fairly decent at playing the harp, though she hated admitting that her uncles, Gunky and Funky, had signed her up for lessons on that instrument. But if there was one thing she was known for, it was never giving up. She absolutely, flat-out refused.