Home / Quotes / Quote by Michael Grant

Quote by Michael Grant

“What is the matter with people?” Sam fumed. “I said we needed a hundred kids and we get thirteen? Fifteen, maybe?” “They’re just kids,” Astrid said. “We’re all just kids. We’re all going to be very hungry kids.” “They’re used to being told what to do by their parents or teachers. You need to be more direct. As in, Hey, kid, get to work. Now.” She thought for a moment then added, “Or else.” “Or else what?” Sam asked. “Or else…I don’t know. We’re not going to let anyone starve. If we can help it. I don’t know the ‘or else.’ All I know is you can’t expect kids to just automatically behave the right way. I mean, when I was little my mom would give me a gold star when I was good and take away a privilege when I wasn’t.” “What am I supposed to do? Tell three hundred kids spread out in seventy or eighty different homes that they can’t watch DVDs? Confiscate iPods?” “It’s not easy playing daddy to three hundred kids,” Astrid admitted. “I’m not anyone’s daddy,” Sam practically snarled. Another sleepless night, in a long string of them, had left him in a foul mood. “I’m supposed to be the mayor, not the father.” “These kids don’t know the difference,” Astrid pointed out. “They need parents. So they look to you. And Mother Mary. Me, even, to some extent.”

Quote by Michael Grant

Work

In this gripping narrative, the protagonist navigates a harsh, unforgiving world where scarcity and desperation are the norm. The story delves into the psychological and physical toll of enduring extreme hunger, offering a poignant look at the human spirit under duress. more

Author

Michael Grant is an American young adult author known for his distinctive narrative style and profound insights into social issues. His works often focus on the growth of teenagers and complex social topics, enjoying great popularity among readers. more

You May Also Like

“Because that’s what parents do, without even thinking about it, that’s what parents do. They fill their children with love and understanding and compassion and knowledge so that when they’re adults no one can extinguish them. They’ll burn so bright they can’t be brought down.”

Love Understanding Parents

Book:So Much More: A single dad, age gap romance

Source: So Much More: A single dad, age gap romance

“But yeah, like everyone else in our family, they could go from zero to murderous in a fucking heartbeat.”

Family Abuse Parents

Book:Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

Source: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

“It hurts when they're gone. And it doesn't matter if it's slow or fast, whether it's a long drawn-out disease or an unexpected accident. When they're gone the world turns upside down and you're left holding on, trying not to fall off.”

Death Grief Death Of A Loved One

Book:Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore

Source: Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore

“To this day, being able to “take advantage” of someone is the measure in my mind of having a parent. For me and Lindsay, the fear of imposing stalked our minds, infecting even the food we ate. We recognized instinctively that many of the people we depended on weren’t supposed to play that role in our lives, so much so that it was one of the first things Lindsay thought of when she learned of Papaw’s death. We were conditioned to feel that we couldn’t really depend on people—that, even as children, asking someone for a meal or for help with a broken-down automobile was a luxury that we shouldn’t indulge in too much lest we fully tap the reservoir of goodwill serving as a safety valve in our lives.”

Childhood Parents

Book:Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

Source: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

“I want you to remember that you can’t feel responsible for everything. We’re your parents, and we will figure us out. All you need to do— any of you”— she looks at my brothers—” is be a kid for now and let us be there for you.”“All of us?” Dusty says. “Even those of us without neurological disorders?” “All of you.”

Responsible Parents Neurological Disorder

Book:Holding Up the Universe

Source: Holding Up the Universe

“Anyone could father a child. But a good parent puts his child's needs before his own. A parent should be selfless not selfish.”

Parents Fathers Dads

Book:Playboy Pilot

Source: Playboy Pilot

“We’re too often guilty of thinking that our parents arrived on this planet as fully functioning adults on the day that we were born. That they don’t have pasts of their own prior to our birth. That the father is not also a son, that the mother is not also a child. My mother had a tough beginning, enduring things I know little about. And yet I more often discount her pain and overvalue mine”

Parents Emotional Pain

Author:Steven Rowley

“My parents spent countless hours teaching me to read and write. My mother was an English teacher who patiently taught me where to put my periods and commas, and my father, who loves books more than anyone I know, taught me from an early age that books are precious and should be handled gently , "like butterflies.”

Books Parents Teaching Children

Book:You'll Grow Out of It

Source: You'll Grow Out of It

“Some children are threatened with loss of privileges such as money, cell phones, cars or even eviction from home if they do not 'toe-the-line' and 'act straight'. I don't think parents who do such things consider for a moment the kind of emotional damage they are doing to their children - or thinking beyond their own feelings about the situation - which will not change or go away simply because of their denial.”

Children Feelings Loss Money Parents Denial Threatened Cars Consider Cell Phones Privileges Eviction Emotional Damage Toe The Line Act Straight

Book:All That Remains

Source: All That Remains

“A lot of parents make you feel very awkward when you meet them.”

Parents Awkward Meeting The Parents

Book:The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Source: The Perks of Being a Wallflower