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Jenny Downham

Jenny Downham Quotes

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Famous Jenny Downham Quotes

“I feel something very small growing inside me as I look at her, and I realize in one absolutely clear moment that I don't like her at all. 'You know what?' I say. 'Forget it. I'll do the list by myself.' She stands up, swings her stupid hair about and tries to look offended. It's a trick that works with guys, but it makes no difference to the way I feel about her.”

KnowsWayFeelsTryingLooksMomentsGuyRealizingDifferencesForgetClearGrowingStupidHairListsTricksSwingsOffendedForget ItLike Her
Author:Jenny Downham
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“Dad, you played rounders with me, even though you hated it and wished I'd take up cricket. You learned how to keep a stamp collecion because I wanted to know. For hours you sat in hospitals and never, not once, complained. You brushed my hair like a mother should. You gave up work for me, friends for me, four years of your life for me. You never moaned. Hardly ever. You let me have Adam. You let me have my list. I was outrageous. Wanting, wanting so much. And you never said, 'That's enough. Stop now.”

KnowsShouldYearsSaidEnoughWantedMotherHoursFourHairDadLet MeListsHatedSatHospitalsAdamFour YearsCricketStampsGave UpOutrageousLike A Mother
Book:Before I Die
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“How late is it? How long have we been sitting here? I look at my watch – three thirty and the day is almost ending. It’s October. All those kids recently returned to classrooms with new bags and pencil cases will be looking forward to half term already. How quickly it goes. Halloween soon, then firework night. Christmas. Spring. Easter. Then there’s my birthday in May. I’ll be seventeen. How long can I stave it off? I don’t know. All I know is that I have two choices – stay wrapped in blankets and get on with dying, or get the list back together and get on with living.”

KnowsLooksMayLongTwoKidsTogetherNightChoicesThreeTermHalfWatchesCasesDyingLateSpringSittingListsThirtyBagsClassroomHalloweenEasterPencilsLooking ForwardBlanketOctoberBack TogetherSeventeenMy BirthdayFireworksTwo Choices
Author:Jenny Downham
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“I'm here. Soon I won't be. Zoey's baby is here. Its pulse tick-ticking. Soon it won't be. And when Zoey comes out of that room, having signed on the dotted line, she'll be different. She'll understand what I already know- that death surrounds us all. And it tastes like metal between you teeth.”

KnowsDifferentLinesRoomsBabyTasteTeethSurroundMetalsPulseTick
Book:Now is Good (Also published as Before I Die)
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