“
Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
You're an investigator - can't nobody find stuff out like a woman. Y'all put the police to shame, make the little investigative tricks they show on CSI and Law & Order: SVU look like counting lessons on Sesame Street.
”
”
Steve Harvey (Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment)
“
Alaska finished her cigarette and flicked it into the river.
'Why do you smoke so damn fast?' I asked.
She looked at me and smiled widely, and such a wide smile on her narrow face might have looked goofy were it not for the unimpeachably elegant green in her eyes. She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, 'Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.
”
”
John Green
“
I've never seen such a collection of idiots in my whole life.' Doolittle shook his head. 'If you participate in this lunacy, y'all will get yourselves killed. Then don't come crying to me.'
Now that would be a neat trick.
”
”
Ilona Andrews (Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, #3))
“
Did I ever tell you the difference between a Northern fairy tale and a Southern one?" she asked him, indulging herself and letting her head rest on his shoulder. God, he felt good. Her man. Where her head was meant to lie, right there, on him.
"What's the difference?"
"A Northern one starts 'once upon a time,' while a Southern one starts 'y'all ain't going to believe this shit.
”
”
Erin McCarthy (Hot Finish (Fast Track, #3))
“
If you want to communicate an idea to a man's brain, talk to him through his pecker. It's like an ear horn, y'all.
”
”
Kresley Cole (Lothaire (Immortals After Dark, #11))
“
We'd better get. But y'all have a nice night,' I say. Apparently, fear turns me Texan. A startling personality insight that I'll jot down later if I'm not dead in a ditch.
”
”
A.M. Robinson (Vampire Crush)
“
Dear God in heaven.”
Nik and Ban turned away, but Alek stood. Transfixed. “My God, y’all. She’s the worst goddamn dancer I’ve ever seen.”
“Turn away. It’ll hurt your eyes. Turn away!
”
”
Shelly Laurenston (Here Kitty, Kitty! (Magnus Pack, #3))
“
Everyone says I'm like the girl next door...Y'all must have really weird neighbors
”
”
Kelly Clarkson
“
There was a sniffle from the crowd. At which point, Rhage’s voice hissed, “What. This is beautiful, ’kay? Fuck all y’all.
”
”
J.R. Ward (The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #12))
“
As Beck drove out of the garage, he gave the parking attendants a big toothy smile and a wave. “There's some snow on the fifth level. Thought ya might like to know. Y'all have a nice day, now!” he called out.
No wonder Dad liked working with you.
”
”
Jana Oliver (Forsaken (The Demon Trappers, #1))
“
There's no way y'all have been around for thousands of years without there being one person not fitting into the 'men are this, women are that' bullshit." Julian sounded so convinced, so sure. His obsidian eyes locked onto Yadriel's. "Maybe they hid it, or ran away, or I dunno, something else, but there's no way you're the first, Yads.
”
”
Aiden Thomas (Cemetery Boys (Cemetery Boys, #1))
“
Girls are given the weight of the world, but nowhere to put it down. The power and magic born in that struggle? It’s so terrifying to men that we invented reasons to burn y’all at the stake, just to keep our dicks hard.
”
”
Tia Williams (Seven Days in June)
“
Smitty gave his best pout. “Why are y’all trying to hurt me?”
“Because it’s fun?”
“It’s easy.”
“I love it when you cry.”
Smitty sighed. “Forget I asked.
”
”
Shelly Laurenston (The Beast in Him (Pride, #2))
“
I'd sooner wear white shoes in February, drink unsweetened tea, and eat Miracle Whip instead of Duke's than utter the words 'you guys'.
”
”
Celia Rivenbark (Bless Your Heart, Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments)
“
It's all about money, not freedom, y'all, okay? Nothing to do with fuckin' freedom. If you think you're free, try going somewhere without fucking money, okay?
”
”
Bill Hicks
“
How do y'all say, 'hoorah' in Angel?
Rude Car.
”
”
Amy A. Bartol (Incendiary (The Premonition, #4))
“
Y'all take care of yourself now... strange and interesting friends are hard to find.
”
”
Dean Koontz
“
Y'all were heroes from the beginning. You just didn't 'turn' all of a sudden
”
”
S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders (the Play))
“
Lucy always said that the greatest friends have nothing and everything in common all at once. Y'all girls are different versions of the same story, she would say.
”
”
Julie Murphy (Dumplin' (Dumplin', #1))
“
Thankfully I had to stand solitary for only one long moment before Jay came back feeling over-the-moon happy. I let his emotion drench me.
“What were you and Kaidan Rowe talking ’bout?” Jay asked me. “Man, y’all looked like you were gonna rip each other’s clothes off!” I gasped
and smacked his arm, but he didn’t flinch.
“We did not.” My eyes darted over to Kaidan for a fraction of a second, and though he was too far away to have heard, the wink he sent me
brought another flush to my skin.
”
”
Wendy Higgins (Sweet Evil (Sweet, #1))
“
I am
Opposite of weak
Opposite of slack
Synonym of heat
Synonym of crack
Closest to the peak
Far from a punk
Y'all ought to stop talking
And start trying to catch up
”
”
Mike Shinoda
“
Jamie Right said her mommy and daddy cuddle naked, so y'all must not be cuddlin' right.
”
”
Toni Aleo (Trying to Score (Assassins, #2))
“
Hey, are you a boy or a — never mind, can I have a push on the swing?” And some day, y’all, when we grow up, it’s all gonna be that simple.
”
”
Andrea Gibson (Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns)
“
If you want to communicate an idea to a man's brain, you must talk to him through his pecker. It's like an ear horn, y'all.
”
”
Kresley Cole (Lothaire (Immortals After Dark, #11))
“
Social media made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.
”
”
Mike Tyson
“
It's because I'm a 'Limited Edition'. Y'all should be grateful for even knowing me," Meryn huffed.
”
”
Alanea Alder (My Protector (Bewitched and Bewildered, #2))
“
Do y’all have enough stun guns for them? (Madaug)
Does a bear defecate rurally? What kind of question is that for someone who owns the biggest gun store in town? Of course I got plenty. I got enough Tasers to light up New York City AND Boston just for giggles. (Bubba)
”
”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Infinity (Chronicles of Nick, #1))
“
That’s a shitty thing to do. It’s almost catlike in its evilness.”
“See, your problem is you underestimate dogs. There’s a reason many of us are let up on the couch, while they keep y’all in a zoo.
”
”
Shelly Laurenston (The Mane Event (Pride, #1))
“
She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." - Alaska
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
Y'all know how much I love you? "Infinity and back again," I say the way I've said it a million times. And then, daddy says to me, "go on and add a little bit more to that.
”
”
Jacqueline Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming)
“
Why, 'inspire?' As y'all can see I love things with the word, 'inspire!' Well, let me remind you that all inspiration comes from God, and my prayer, is that He will lead me, to inspire you to find the true inspiration that He will freely give to you!
”
”
NOT A BOOK
“
We can stick anything into the fog
and make it look like a ghost
but tonight
let us not become tragedies.
We are not funeral homes
with propane tanks in our windows,
lookin’ like cemeteries.
Cemeteries are just the Earth’s way of not letting go.
Let go.
Tonight
let’s turn our silly wrists so far backwards
the razor blades in our pencil tips
can’t get a good angle on all that beauty inside.
Step into this
with your airplane parts.
Move forward
and repeat after me with your heart:
“I no longer need you to fuck me as hard as I hated myself.”
Make love to me
like you know I am better
than the worst thing I ever did.
Go slow.
I’m new to this.
But I have seen nearly every city from a rooftop
without jumping.
I have realized
that the moon
did not have to be full for us to love it,
that we are not tragedies
stranded here beneath it,
that if my heart
really broke
every time I fell from love
I’d be able to offer you confetti by now.
But hearts don’t break,
y’all,
they bruise and get better.
We were never tragedies.
We were emergencies.
You call 9 – 1 – 1.
Tell them I’m having a fantastic time.
”
”
Buddy Wakefield
“
And all you other cats throwin' shots at Jigga, | You only get half a bar: fuck y'all niggaz.
”
”
Jay-Z
“
That American Dream that y'all fight so hard for over there ? The freedom that you would die to protect. They're yours too, you know.
”
”
Kristen Proby (Safe with Me (With Me in Seattle, #5))
“
Home is about the earth. Whether the earth open up to you. Whether it pull you so close the space between you and it melt and y’all one and it beats like your heart. Same time. Where
”
”
Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing)
“
And, I want other women to know they can stand up and MUST stand up to your persecutors. Feel the fear, and do it anyway. We are all as sick as our secrets y'all. Remember that sh*t.
”
”
Jenifer Lewis (The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir)
“
Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business. He told me.how surprised y'all is goin' tuh be if you ever find out you don't know half as much 'bout us as you think yo do. It's so easy to make yo'self out God Almighty when you ain't got nothin' tuh strain against but women and chickens.
”
”
Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God)
“
Home is about the earth. Whether the earth open up to you. Whether it pull you so close the space between you and it melt and y'all one and it beats like your heart.
”
”
Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing)
“
Y’all might as well come on out,” I said. “I know you’re there. I can smell you.”
“Smell me? But I just took a shower this morning!” an indignant voice drifted out of the shadows.
There was a loud sound, like someone was getting smacked upside the head. Then another voice let out a low mutter.
“Shut up, idiot.
”
”
Jennifer Estep (By a Thread (Elemental Assassin, #6))
“
Can't introduce ya,' the feline admitted.
'Why not?'
'Don't know his name.'
'Snuggling up to a man y'all don't know. My momma was right. Yankees are whores.'
'Well, I know him,' MacDermot volumteered.
The She-wolf stared at her. 'So?'
'You said y'all.'
'I didn't say 'all y'all.' So I wasn't talking to you.'
'I don't understand your country-speak,' McDermot complained, dropping into the desk chair across from Crush.
”
”
Shelly Laurenston (Bear Meets Girl (Pride, #7))
“
It wasn’t until someone kicked his legs that Nik woke up. Alek, snoring beside him, his head resting on his shoulder. Ban snoring on the other couch, the noise rivaled only by the dog. He looked into the impossibly cranky face of Zach Sheridan. “Y’all get food?”
“We had a full refrigerator before you three got here.”
“Where I come from, we don’t let the refrigerator get empty.”
“Where you come from, you marry your sister.
”
”
Shelly Laurenston (Here Kitty, Kitty! (Magnus Pack, #3))
“
Y'all probably watched a lot of television."
"We didn't have TV."
"Nintendo, then?"
He shook his head.
"Fantasy football? Xbox?" I frowned. "Please tell me you had Angry Birds."
"We had a library," he said, "and a few educational magazines."
"Huh. Well, that's just tragic.
”
”
Cecily White (Prophecy Girl (Angel Academy, #1))
“
Our parents did the best they could with the light they had to see with.
”
”
Leslie Jordan (How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived)
“
Everyone thinks I’m going to eventually die of a heart attack, but joke’s on y’all—it’s definitely going to be of secondhand embarrassment.
”
”
Samantha Irby (Wow, No Thank You.)
“
The woman set Sig's chocolate orgy out in front of her and deposited my steak on the table.
"Y'all must work out," the waitress observed a little sourly. She apparently did not.
"I'm going to throw this up later," Sig said expressionlessly.
"I have a tapeworm," I said cheerfully.
”
”
Elliott James (Charming (Pax Arcana, #1))
“
So how was it? Did it hurt? Was he gentle? How many times did y’all do it?
”
”
Annie Brewer (Back To You)
“
I think our dreams are what sustain us in hard times. Dreams are what keep us childlike. I love that they can grow and expand as we grow and expand.
”
”
Leslie Jordan (How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived)
“
My momma always said, 'You and Elvis are pretty good, but y'all ain't no Chuck Berry.
”
”
Jerry Lee Lewis
“
Remember: Y'all is singular. All y'all is plural. All y'all's is plural possessive.
”
”
Kinky Friedman
“
Me, Mr Wiggins. Me. Me to take the cross. Your cross, Nannan's cross, my own cross. Me, Mr Wiggins. This old stumbling nigger. Y'all axe a lot, Mr Wiggins.
”
”
Ernest J. Gaines (A Lesson Before Dying)
“
It was hard to hear him, but she turned around, and when she faced him again he was smiling broadly. He pulled his glove off and held up three fingers, then kissed his palm and pressed it to the glass. She pressed her hand against his, and said, “Good luck.”
Shea skated off with a nod.
“Oh. My. God. Y’all disgust me. That was straight out of some sappy love story,” Harper complained.
”
”
Toni Aleo (Taking Shots (Assassins, #1))
“
How many beers do y'all think it takes before one internationally scientist turns to another and says, 'Dude, bet you twenty bucks I can levitate a frog with a magnet?' ' Sam drawled.
”
”
Robyn Schneider (The Beginning of Everything)
“
Happiness is a choice. Happiness is a habit. And happiness is something you have to work hard at. It does not just happen.
”
”
Leslie Jordan (How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived)
“
You think y'all are off the hook for institutional bigotry because you come from a blue state. Not every white supremacist is a meth-head from Bumfuck Mississippi. There are plenty of them at Duke or UPenn on Daddy's money.
”
”
Casey McQuiston (Red, White & Royal Blue)
“
Why do you smoke so damn fast?”
“Y’all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
It reminds me of the difference between a Northern fairy tale and a Southern fairy tale."
"What's that?" he asked.
"In a Northern fairy tale, you start off by saying: 'Once upon a time' and all that. In the South, we start off by saying:'Y'all ain't going to believe this shit!
”
”
Nick Wilgus (Shaking the Sugar Tree (Sugar Tree, #1))
“
Why we got to have the police around every time we has a simple party? Ya'll don't watch out for us. Y'all watch over us. I don't see y'all out there standing over the white folks in Park Slope when they has their block parties
”
”
James McBride (Deacon King Kong)
“
Kaidan had been captivated by the store owner's deep Texan accent. He asked a ridiculous number of questions just to keep the man talking. He then tried to repeat the man's accent when we got in the car. “Where are y'all young'uns headed? We got us some maps over yonder by them there h-apples.”
I laughed out loud as he butchered the man's beautiful drawl.
“He did not say 'over yonder'!”
“I've always wanted to say that. I love Americans. You've got a nice little accent, though not nearly as wicked as his.”
“I do?”
He nodded.
Aside from the occasional y'all, I didn't think I sounded Southern, but I guess it's hard to say about your own self.
”
”
Wendy Higgins (Sweet Evil (Sweet, #1))
“
Best day of my life hasn't happened yet. But I know it. I see it every day. The best day of my life is the day I buy my mom a huge fucking house. And not just like out in the woods, but in the middle of Mountain Brook, with all the Weekday Warriors' parents. With all y'all's parents. And I'm not buying it with a mortgage either. I'm buying it with cash money, and I am driving my mom there, and I'm going to open her side of the car door and she'll get
out and look at this house—this house is like picket fence and two stories and everything, you know—and I'm going to hand her the keys to her house and I'll say, 'Thanks.' Man, she helped fill out my application to this place. And she let me come here, and that's no easy thing when you come from where we do, to let your son go away to school. So that's the best day of my life.
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
How many times do I have to tell y’all not to discuss your murder plots in front of a sitting president?” their mother interrupts. “Plausible deniability. Come on.
”
”
Casey McQuiston (Red, White & Royal Blue)
“
My mind is like a bad neighborhood. Honey, you do not want to go up there alone.
”
”
Leslie Jordan (How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived)
“
I hope y'all haven't punk'd me or anything and you're actually calling me a wuss.
”
”
Heather Rainier (Tangled in Divine (Divine Creek Ranch, #14))
“
You know what a redneck's last words are, right, Mace?"my aunt asked on the phone. "Hey y'all...watch this!
”
”
Deborah Sharp
“
There was no ‘Miss Woodley.’ There was Willie. Willie was about life, and she grabbed it by the balls. Y’all know that. She loved a stiff drink, a stiff hundred, and she loved her business. And she didn’t judge nobody. She loved everyone equal—accountants, queers, musicians, she welcomed us all, said we were all idiots just the same.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Out of the Easy)
“
Now y’all, cut it out. Brothers and sisters shouldn’t act like this.”
Sissy stared at her brother’s mate. “Are you new to the neighborhood?
”
”
Shelly Laurenston (The Mane Attraction (Pride, #3))
“
Use the word 'ya'll' and before you knew it, you'd find yourself in a haystack french-kissing an underage goat
”
”
David Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day)
“
And that’s something I’ve learned in the years since, that there are so many different types of love, so many ways someone can stay committed to you, stay in your life even if y’all aren’t together, you know? And none of these ways are more important than the other.
”
”
Akwaeke Emezi (You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty)
“
...but he can't stop himself from loving her. Maybe it's 'cause he knows that in the end, she'll survive him. ... By virtue of being a woman, she's stronger. Girls are given the weight of the world, but nowhere to put it down. The power and magic born in that struggle? It's so terrifying to men that we invented reasons to burn y'all at the stake, just to keep our dicks hard.
”
”
Tia Williams (Seven Days in June)
“
CHAPTER 2: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
ALDO THE APACHE
My name is Lt. Aldo Raine and I'm putting together a special team, and I need me 8 soldiers. 8 Jewish-American soldiers.
Now, y'all might've heard rumors about the armada happening soon. Well, we'll be leaving a little earlier. We're gonna be dropped into France, dressed as civilians. And once we're in enemy territory, as a bushwhackin' guerrilla army, we're gonna be doin' one thing and one thing only... killin' Nazis.
Now, I don't know about y'all, but I sure as hell didn't come down from the goddamn Smoky Mountains, cross 5,000 miles of water, fight my way through half of Sicily and jump out of a fuckin' air-o-plane to teach the Nazis lessons in humanity. Nazi ain't got no humanity. They're the foot soldiers of a Jew-hatin', mass murderin' maniac and they need to be destroyed. That's why any and every every son of a bitch we find wearin' a Nazi uniform, they're gonna die.
Now, I'm the direct descendant of the mountain man Jim Bridger. That means I got a little Injun in me. And our battle plan will be that of an Apache resistance.
We will be cruel to the Germans, and through our cruelty they will know who we are.
And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us.
And the German won't not be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives.
And the German will be sickened by us, and the German will talk about us, and the German will fear us.
And when the German closes their eyes at night and they're tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with.
Sooounds good?
”
”
Quentin Tarantino
“
You have to be happy in your regular life or you’re not going to survive the journey toward a goal.
”
”
Retta (So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know)
“
I slipped some... surprises in the tea after y’all left. Ma and Dad should both sleep ’till noon. I might have killed Grandpa, we’ll see in the morning.
”
”
Abigail Roux (Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run, #6))
“
Russell?”
“Yeah! You got my back now?” Russell asks in a sour tone, looking over the railing from the tower above. “’Cuz one of them freaky demon things almost ate me after y’all left!”
“A Riser nearly ate you?” Reed asks with humor in his tone
“Yeah, whatever—it’s not funny!” he calls down, sounding irritated. “Next time, I want Zee for my wingman.”
“That is because I am the ultimate assassin,” Zephyr replies from behind Reed.
”
”
Amy A. Bartol (Incendiary (The Premonition, #4))
“
Holy crap, Caleb! You're my uncle." Nick
"No!" Caleb
"It's worse. He's the half-brother of your great-grandfather." Kody
"You're not helping." Caleb
"No, but I'm entertaining myself at your adorable expense." Kody
"Yeah, y'all are missing the important fact. To a Cajun, that makes him my uncle." Nick
"Great. I always wanted to be a monkey's uncle. Nice to know I finally succeeded." Caleb
”
”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Invision (Chronicles of Nick, #7))
“
I think that fear keeps so many of us from being successful at things outside our realm of experience. We love to stay in our comfort zone, but the growth only comes when we wander outside of that zone.
”
”
Leslie Jordan (How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived)
“
Students quickly receive the message that they can only be smart when they are not who they are. This, in many ways, is classroom colonialism; and it can only be addressed through a very different approach to teaching and learning.
”
”
Christopher Emdin (For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy))
“
What a nice bunch of girls,” declared Matrick, watching her go. “They certainly were,” Gabe agreed. “I mean, they made us breakfast and everything,” said Moog, and the other two nodded. Which left Clay to state the obvious. “Y’all are fucking crazy,” he said.
”
”
Nicholas Eames (Kings of the Wyld (The Band, #1))
“
Why do you smoke so damn fast?" I asked. She looked at me and smiled widely, and such a wide smile on her narrow face might have looked goofy were it not for the unimpeachably elegant green in her eyes. She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
There were moments like this that Alix tried to breeze over, but they got stuck somewhere between her heart and ears. She knew Emira had gone to college. She knew Emira had majored in English. But sometimes, after seeing her paused songs with titles like "Dope Bitch" and "Y'all Already Know," then hearing her use words like connoisseur, Alix was filled with feelings that went from confused and highly impressed to low and guilty in response to the first reaction. There was no reason for Emira to be unfamiliar with this word. And there was no reason for Alix to be impressed.
”
”
Kiley Reid (Such a Fun Age)
“
Who the hell thought of that? Probably the same sick SOB who saw a chicken shoot an egg out of its nether region and said, “Hey, y’all, I think I’m gonna dry that up and eat it. Wish me luck. If I get sick from it, someone fetch a doctor.”’ – Sundown
”
”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Retribution (Dark-Hunter, #19))
“
..:What you feed yourself with, will eventually grow.
Whether be good or bad, it will grow.
It will affect your entire mood, enviroment, and the way of thinking... Most of all, it will affect your entire outcome of your today. (Not to mention your tomorrow)
"You will only get in life what you only put in…" Or not…
Is essential we RENEW OUR MINDS and be very careful with what we feed ourselves with… Have a great day y'all:..
-R.G-
”
”
Rafael Garcia
“
What? I better ask before y’all have me sleeping in the house with a murderer, waking up dead!”
What in the . . . “You can’t wake up dead,” I say.
“Li’l girl, you know what I mean!” She moves from the doorway. “I’ll be waking up in Jesus’s face, trying to figure out what happened!”
“Like you going to heaven,” Daddy mumbles.
”
”
Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1))
“
Do either of y’all know what a viscount is?” June is saying, halfway through a cucumber sandwich. “I’ve met, like, five of them, and I keep smiling politely as if I know what it means when they say it. Alex, you took comparative international governmental relational things. Whatever. What are they?”
“I think it’s that thing when a vampire creates an army of crazed sex waifs and starts his own ruling body.
”
”
Casey McQuiston (Red, White & Royal Blue)
“
Whole heap o’ folks, ’cludin’ me till I got grown, ain’t knowed at firs’ weren’t nobody in dis country but Indians, fishin’ an’ huntin’ an’ fightin’ one ’nother, jes’ mindin’ dey own business. Den here come l’il ol’ boat o’ white folks a-wavin’ an’ grinnin’. ‘Hey, y’all red mens! How ’bout let us come catch a bite an’ a nap ’mongst y’all an’ le’s be friends!’ Huh! I betcha nowdays dem Indians wish dey’s made dat boat look like a porcupine wid dey arrows!
”
”
Alex Haley (Roots: The Saga of an American Family)
“
In the convent, y'all,
I tend the gardens,
watch things grow,
pray for the immortal soul
of rock 'n' roll.
They call me
Sister Presley here,
The Reverend Mother
digs the way I move my hips
just like my brother.
Gregorian chant
drifts out across the herbs
Pascha nostrum immolatus est...
I wear a simple habit,
darkish hues,
a wimple with a novice-sewn
lace band, a rosary,
a chain of keys,
a pair of good and sturdy
blue suede shoes.
I think of it
as Graceland here,
a land of grace.
It puts my trademark slow lopsided smile
back on my face.
Lawdy.
I'm alive and well.
Long time since I walked
down Lonely Street
towards Heartbreak Hotel.
- Elvis's Twin Sister
”
”
Carol Ann Duffy (The World's Wife)
“
Stevie Rae looked from vampyre to vampyre. “Y’all need to get your shit together. Here’s a newsflash from the only High Priestess you have left at this dang school: Zoey isn’t dead. And believe me, I know dead. I’ve been there, done that, and got the frickin’ T-shirt.” Stevie Rae turned her back on the room and, with her fledglings, got the heck outta there.
”
”
P.C. Cast (Burned (House of Night, #7))
“
Home ain't always about a place. The house I grew up in is gone, ain't nothin' but a field and some woods but even if the house was still there - it ain't about that. I don't know. Home is about the earth. Whether the earth open up to you. Whether it pull you so close the space between you and it melt and y’all one and it beats like your heart. Same time.
”
”
Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing)
“
he found himself pondering what it must be like not to belong to someone. What would it feel like to be “free”? It must not be all that good or Massa Lea, like most whites, wouldn’t hate free blacks so much. But then he remembered what a free black woman who had sold him some white lightning in Greensboro had told him once. “Every one us free show y’all plantation niggers livin’ proof dat jes’ bein’ a nigger don’ mean you have to be no slave. Yo’ massa don’ never want you thinkin’ nothin’ ’bout dat.” During
”
”
Alex Haley (Roots: The Saga of an American Family)
“
i was really into communal living and we were all /
such free spirits, crossing the country we were /
nomads and artists and no one ever stopped / to think about how the one working class housemate / was whoring to support a gang of upper middle class / deadheads with trust fund safety nets and connecticut / childhoods, everyone was too busy processing their isms / to deal with non-issues like class....and it’s just so cool / how none of them have hang-ups about / sex work they’re all real / open-minded real / revolutionary you know / the legal definition of pimp is / one who lives off the earnings of / a prostitute, one or five or / eight and i’d love to stay and / eat some of the stir fry i’ve been cooking / for y’all but i’ve got to go fuck / this guy so we can all get stoned and / go for smoothies tomorrow, save me / some rice, ok?
”
”
Michelle Tea (The Beautiful: Collected Poems)
“
This is what we do. We fix things. We’re tinker-ers. If we didn’t tinker with cars, we’d tinker with people.”
Drew flashed a rare grin. “You already tinker with people, Cletus.”
“You are correct,” I sat straighter in my seat, ready to defend myself, “but only my family. And y’all deserve my tinkering.”
“Don’t get me wrong. You’re good at tinkering. Aside from those revenge plots, people are lucky to have you interfering in their lives.
”
”
Penny Reid (Beard Science (Winston Brothers, #3))
“
Daddy, you’re the worst person to watch Harry Potter with. The whole time you’re talking about”—I deepen my voice—“‘Why don’t they shoot that nigga Voldemort?’” “Ay, it don’t make sense that in all them movies and books, nobody thought to shoot him.” “If it’s not that,” Momma says, “you’re giving your ‘Harry Potter is about gangs’ theory.” “It is!” he says. Okay, so it is a good theory. Daddy claims the Hogwarts houses are really gangs. They have their own colors, their own hideouts, and they are always riding for each other, like gangs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione never snitch on one another, just like gangbangers. Death Eaters even have matching tattoos. And look at Voldemort. They’re scared to say his name. Really, that “He Who Must Not Be Named” stuff is like giving him a street name. That’s some gangbanging shit right there. “Y’all know that make a lot of sense,” Daddy says. “Just ’cause they was in England don’t mean they wasn’t gangbanging.” He looks at me. “So you down to hang out with your old man today or what?
”
”
Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1))
“
And then we heard a branch break. It might have been a deer, but the Colonel busted out anyway. A voice directly behind us said, "Don't run, Chipper," and the Colonel stopped, turned around, and returned to us sheepishly.
The Eagle walked toward us slowly, his lips pursed in disgust. He wore a white shirt and a black tie, like always.
He gave each of us in turn the Look of Doom.
"Y'all smell like a North Carolina tobacco field in a wildfire," he said.
We stood silent. I felt disproportionately terrible, like I had just been caught fleeing the scene of a murder.
Would he call my parents?
"I'll see you in Jury tomorrow at five," he announced, and then walked away. Alaska crouched down, picked up the cigarette she had thrown away, and started smoking again. The Eagle wheeled around, his sixth sense detecting Insubordination To Authority Figures. Alaska dropped the cigarette and stepped on it. The Eagle shook his head, and even though he must have been crazy mad, I swear to God he smiled.
"He loves me," Alaska told me as we walked back to the dorm circle. "He loves all y'all, too. He just loves the school more. That's the thing. He thinks busting us is good for the school and good for us. It's the eternal struggle, Pudge. The Good versus the Naughty."
"You're awfully philosophical for a girl that just got busted," I told her.
"Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war.
”
”
John Green (Looking for Alaska)
“
I'm fucking done with sadness, and I don't know what's up the ass of the universe lately, but I'VE HAD IT. I AM GOING TO BE FURIOUSLY HAPPY, OUT OF SHEER SPITE.
Can you hear that? That's me smiling, y'all. I'm smiling so loud you can fucking hear it. I'm going to destroy the goddamn universe with my irrational joy and I will spew forth pictures of clumsy kittens and baby puppies adopted by raccoons and MOTHERFUCKING NEWBORN LLAMAS DIPPED IN GLITTER AND THE BLOOD OF SEXY VAMPIRES AND IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME. In fact, I'm starting a whole movement right now. The FURIOUSLY HAPPY movement. And it's going to be awesome because first of all, we're all going to be VEHEMENTLY happy, and secondly because it will freak the shit out of everyone that hates you because those assholes don't want to see you even vaguely amused, much less furiously happy, and it will make their world turn a little sideways and will probably scare the shit out of them. Which will make you even more happy. Legitimately.
”
”
Jenny Lawson
“
Time is tick, tick, ticking away. How many souls will I capture today? Will they be a challenge or will they be given? Only time will tell as the clock keeps tick, tick, ticking. Your god has arrived with enough hatred for y’all, with enough evil for the big and small, so come one, come all. I will shred your souls and place them in my satchel, call you a settler and make you my peddler. Come one, come all, come stand behind your god. I will lead you into the darkness of Earth's end. Come one, come all, my wilted flowers, come claim your title, speak out and cheer it. Come one, come all, let’s have a ball, my wilted flowers . . . Sweet, Unconquerable Spirits.
”
”
A.K. Kuykendall (The Possession (The Writer's Block trilogy, #1))
“
No one has heard from him in countless centuries. For all we know, the Grizzly might have killed him when he behind the Gate or he could have possessed him. You have no idea what the Grizzly is capable of. Trust me. We have to stop them from opening that jar. If the Grizzly gets out again–” – Ren
“It’ll be a fun time in Disneyland. Y’all think we could arm Mickey? He might be badass with a gun.” – Sundown
”
”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Retribution (Dark-Hunter, #19))
“
People hate these shows, but their hatred smacks of denial. It's all there, all the old American grotesques, the test-tube babies of Whitman and Poe, a great gauntlet of doubtless eyes, big mouths spewing fantastic catchphrase fountains of impenetrable self-justification, muttering dark prayers, calling on God to strike down those who would fuck with their money, their cash, and always knowing, always preaching. Using weird phrases that nobody uses, except everybody uses them now. Constantly talking about 'goals.' Throwing carbonic acid on our castmates because they used our special cup annd then calling our mom to say, in a baby voice, 'People don't get me here.' Walking around half-naked with a butcher knife behind our backs. Telling it like it is, y'all (what-what). And never passive-aggressive, no. Saying it straight to your face. But crying...My God, there have been more tears shed on reality TV than by all the war widows of the world. Are we so raw? It must be so. There are simply too many of them-too many shows and too many people on the shows-for them not to be revealing something endemic. This is us, a people of savage sentimentality, weeping and lifting weights.
”
”
John Jeremiah Sullivan (Pulphead)
“
What you mean he’s staying with us?” “Just what I said. He got in a little trouble in Garden Heights and needs to stay here.” She scoffs, and I know where Momma gets it from. “A li’l trouble, huh? Tell the truth, boy.” She lowers her voice and asks with suspicious, squinted eyes, “Did you kill somebody?” “Momma!” my momma says. “What? I better ask before y’all have me sleeping in the house with a murderer, waking up dead!” What in the . . . “You can’t wake up dead,” I say. “Li’l girl, you know what I mean!” She moves from the doorway. “I’ll be waking up in Jesus’s face, trying to figure out what happened!” “Like you going to heaven,” Daddy mumbles.
”
”
Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give)
“
My apologies, see, I forgot my manners.
I get on the mic ’cause it’s my life. You show off for girls and cameras.
You a pop star, not a rapper. A Vanilla Ice or a Hammer.
Y’all hear this crap he dumping out? Somebody get him a Pamper.
And a crown for me. The best have heard about me.
You can only spell “brilliant” by first spelling Bri.
You see, naturally, I do my shit with perfection.
Better call a bodyguard ’cause you gon’ need some protection,
And on this here election, the people crown a new leader.
You didn’t see this coming, and your ghostwriters didn’t either.
I came here to ether. I’m sorry to do this to you.
This is no longer a battle, it’s your funeral, boo. I’m murdering you.
On my corner they call me coroner, I’m warning ya.
Tell the truth, this dude is borin’ ya.
You confused like a foreigner. I’ll explain with ease:
You’re just a casualty in the reality of the madness of Bri.
No fallacies, I spit maladies, causin’ fatalities,
And do it casually, damaging rappers without bandaging.
Imagining managing my own label, my own salary.
And actually, factually, there’s no MC that’s as bad as me.
Milez? That’s cute. But it don’t make me cower.
I move at light speed, you stuck at per hour.
You spit like a lisp. I spit like a high power.
Bri’s the future, and you Today like Matt Lauer.
You coward. But you’re a G? It ain’t convincing to me.
You talk about your clothes, about your shopping sprees.
You talk about your Glock, about your i-c-e.
But in this here ring, they all talking ’bout me,
Bri!
”
”
Angie Thomas (On the Come Up)
“
I used the word “genitals” too much in this chapter so I went on Twitter to ask what a gender-neutral word for junk was and I got three hundred responses in ten minutes without a single person’s questioning why I was asking. A few of my favorites that I didn’t get to share earlier: “niblets,” “nethers,” “naughty bits,” “no-no zone,” “squish mittens,” “Area 51,” “the danger zone,” “the south 40,” “the situation” (with a suggested circular hand motion near said area), “the Department of the Interior,” “crotchal region,” “fandanglies,” “groinulars,” “groinacopia,” “my hoopty,” “my bidness,” “my chamber of secrets,” “my charcuterie,” “front butt,” “privy parts,” “private parts,” “pirate parts” (which I suspect was a typo but now I’m embracing it), and my personal favorite, “the good china.” This is exactly why I love the Internet. That and the fact that it’s where those fancy dictionary robots that yell “cockchafer” at each other live. The Internet is a goddamn wonderland, y’all.
”
”
Jenny Lawson (Broken (In the Best Possible Way))
“
What’s wrong?” Billy’s question had me looking up. My second-oldest brother was already dressed for work in his suit and tie. “And shouldn’t you be fishing with Hank?”
“I cancelled. I have an errand to run.” Grabbing a coffee cup from the cabinet, I tossed a thumb over my shoulder. “The toilet is acting funny.”
“Like what? You mean satire?” This question came from Cletus, not bothering to glance away from where he was reading at the table. He was still in his pajamas, his curly hair a mess.Nevertheless, I was surprised to see him up so early.
“No, I mean—”
“I hope it’s a dark comedy,” he added, still not removing his attention from the newspaper.
“Cletus. That’s disgusting.”Sitting across from Cletus, Duane’s tone was reprimanding.
Finally, Cletus tore his eyes from the paper. “What?”
“Dark comedy?” My twin lifted his eyebrows.“Meaning poop?”
“No, Duane.” Cletus paired this with a suffering sigh.
“That would make it a shitty comedy,” I piped in, adding fuel to the conversation fire as I was prone to do, feeling more myself as I smiled.
“Y’all are a bunch of toilets,” Billy mumbled under his breath.
We all turned our attention to our older brother, with Cletus speaking for us, “Let me guess, because toilets in this house actfunny?”
Billy tilted his cup toward Cletus. “Exactly.”
I grinned, the rawness in me settling. Being around my brothers was a salve and a good reminder. We had all lived through dark times—sometimes together, sometimes separately—yet here we were, making toilet jokes on a Wednesday before 7:00 AM.
”
”
Penny Reid (Beard in Mind (Winston Brothers, #4))