120 Quotes & Sayings By Patrick Ness

Patrick Ness is the award-winning author of several popular YA novels including the critically acclaimed (and much-loved) Chaos Walking trilogy, which has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Patrick's books have been translated into over 30 languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications. He lives in North London.

1
It's not that you should never love something so much that it can control you. It's that you need to love something that much so you can never be controlled. It's not a weakness. It's your best strength. Patrick Ness
2
His noise is getting quieter, but I can still see it there still- See how he feels the skin of my hand against his, see how he wants to take it and press it against his mouth, how he wants to breathe in the smell of me and how beautiful I look to him, how strong after all that illness, and how he wants to just lightly touch my neck, just there, and how he wants to take me in his arms and-" Oh, God, " he says, looking away suddenly. "Viola, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" But I just put my hand to the back of his neck- And he says, "Viola-?"And I pull myself towards him- And I kiss him. And it feels like, finally. Patrick Ness
Real life is only ever just real life. Messy. What...
3
Real life is only ever just real life. Messy. What it means depends on how you look at it. The only thing you’ve got to do is find a way to live there. Patrick Ness
We have to lie to ourselves to live. Otherwise, we'd...
4
We have to lie to ourselves to live. Otherwise, we'd go crazy. Patrick Ness
5
People see stories everywhere... We take random events and we put them together in a pattern so we can comfort ourselves with a story, no matter how much it obviously isn't true... We have to lie to ourselves to live. Otherwise, we'd go crazy. Patrick Ness
You said we all want there to be more than...
6
You said we all want there to be more than this! Well, there's always more than this. There's always something you don't know. Patrick Ness
7
So we forgive each other?" The crooked smile climbs up one more time. "Again?"And I look right into his eyes, right into him as far as I can see, because I want him to hear me, I want him to hear me with everything I mean and feel and say." Always, " I say to him. "Every time. Patrick Ness
8
Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Patrick Ness
Being a leader is making the people you love hate...
9
Being a leader is making the people you love hate you a little more each day. Patrick Ness
A good idea always attracts other good ideas.
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A good idea always attracts other good ideas. Patrick Ness
Librarians are tour-guides for all of knowledge.
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Librarians are tour-guides for all of knowledge. Patrick Ness
12
You won't, " says the Mayor, smiling again. "Everyone knows you aren't a killer, Todd."He pushes Viola forward again -She calls out from the pain of it -Viola, I think - -I grit my teeth and raise the rifle -I cock it -And I say what's true -"I would kill to save her, " I say. Patrick Ness
13
Hope may be the thing that pulls you forward, may be the thing that keeps you going, but that it's dangerous, that it's painful and risky, that it's making a dare in the world and when has the world ever let us win a dare? Patrick Ness
14
HELP! ”I race to the square, crossing it, looking all around, listening out-.. It’s empty. Viola’s breathing heavy in my arms .And Haven is empty. I reach the middle of the square. I don’t see nor hear a soul. I spin around again.“ H E L P! ” I cry. But there’s no one. Haven’s completely empty. There ain’t hope here after all. Patrick Ness
15
I think how hope may be the thing that pulls you forward, may be the thing that keeps you going, but that it's dangerous, too, that it's painful and risky, that it's making a dare to the world and when has the world ever let us win a dare? Patrick Ness
16
There is a brightness on her face and she keeps urging me on with tilts of her head and smiles and I think how hope may be the thing that pulls you forward, may be the thing that keeps you going, but that it's dangerous, too, that it's painful and risky, that it's making a dare to the world and when has the world ever let us win a dare? Patrick Ness
17
And if one day, ' she said, really crying now, 'you look back and you feel bad for being so angry, if you feel bad for being so angry at me that you couldn't even speak to me, then you have to know, Conor, you have to that is was okay. It was okay. That I knew. I know, okay? I know everything you need to tell me without you having to say it out loud. Patrick Ness
18
And I put my hand on her arm to stop her rowing. Aaron’s Noise roars up in red and black. The current takes us on.“ I’m sorry! ” I cry as the river takes us away, my words ragged things torn from me, my chest pulled so tight I can’t barely breathe. “I’m sorry, Manchee! ”?”“Manchee! ” I scream. Aaron brings his free hand towards my dog.“ M A N C H E E! ”?” And Aaron wrenches his arms and there’s a CRACK and a scream and a cut-off yelp that tears my heart in two forever and forever. And the pain is too much it’s too much it’s too much and my hands are on my head and I’m rearing back and my mouth is open in a never-ending wordless wail of all the blackness that’s inside of me. Patrick Ness
And then his noise falls completely silent- And he stops...
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And then his noise falls completely silent- And he stops struggling- And looking right into my eyes- He dies. My Todd dies. Patrick Ness
His absence is so big it's like he's there.
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His absence is so big it's like he's there. Patrick Ness
Death is not the end.
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Death is not the end. Patrick Ness
You be as angry as you need to be,
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You be as angry as you need to be, " she said. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not your grandma, not your dad, no one. And if you need to break things, then by God, you break them good and Patrick Ness
That's the thing I'm learning about being thrown out on...
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That's the thing I'm learning about being thrown out on yer own. Nobody does nothing for you. If you don't change it, it don't get changed. Patrick Ness
24
Not everyone has to be the chosen one. Not everyone has to be the guy who saves the world. Most people just have to live their lives the best they can, doing the things that are great from them, having great friends, trying to make their lives better, loving people probably. All the while knowing that the world makes no sense but trying to find a way to be happy anyways. Patrick Ness
And she says, “Then let’s just take the effing road...
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And she says, “Then let’s just take the effing road and get ourselves to Hav Patrick Ness
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Manchee comes outta the bushes and sits down next to me cuz I’ve stopped right there in the middle of a trail. He looks around to see what I might be seeing and then he says, ”Good poo, Todd.” ”I’m sure it was, Manch Patrick Ness
Know yourself and go in swinging, if it hurts when...
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Know yourself and go in swinging, if it hurts when you hit, it might be real, too. Patrick Ness
Maybe hearts don't ever stop breaking once broken.
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Maybe hearts don't ever stop breaking once broken. Patrick Ness
29
And yeah, I know most people would think it weird that two guy friends touch as much as we do, but when you choose your family, you get to choose how it is between you, too. This is how we work. I hope you get to choose your family and I hope it means as much to you as mine does to me. Patrick Ness
It's love. But it's a different kind,
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It's love. But it's a different kind, "" Doesn't make it any less love, though. Patrick Ness
Pity is an insult. Kindness is a miracle.
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Pity is an insult. Kindness is a miracle. Patrick Ness
32
War is like a monster, " he says, almost to himself. "War is the devil. It starts and it consumes and it grows and grows and grows." He's looking at me now. "And otherwise normal men become monsters, too. Patrick Ness
This is what war does. Right here, in my hands....
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This is what war does. Right here, in my hands. This is war. Patrick Ness
War is a monster. War is the devil. It starts...
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War is a monster. War is the devil. It starts and it consumes and it grows and grows. And otherwise normal men become monsters, too. Patrick Ness
If war is hard - and it is, forever and...
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If war is hard - and it is, forever and always - then after war is just as hard, in a different way. Patrick Ness
But what is a dream, Conor O'Malley? Who is to...
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But what is a dream, Conor O'Malley? Who is to say that it is not everything else that is the dream? Patrick Ness
A peace that blacked yer eye, ' I say. 'A...
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A peace that blacked yer eye, ' I say. 'A peace that split yer lip.' He looks at me for another second and then gives a sad snort. “The words of a sage, ” he says, “in the voice of a hick. Patrick Ness
She is born in the breath of a cloud
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She is born in the breath of a cloud Patrick Ness
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The boy who refused to lose his soul. Patrick Ness
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I was a hugely unchaperoned reader, and I would wander into my local public library and there sat the world, waiting for me to look at it, to find out about it, to discover who I might be insid Patrick Ness
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And the pain is too much it’s too much it’s too much and my hands are on my head and I’m rearing back and my mouth is open in a never-ending wordless wail of all the blackness that’s inside of me. Patrick Ness
42
HEREIt’s-Can I say? It’s like the song of a family where everything’s always all right, it’s a song of belonging that makes you belong just by hearing it, it’s a song that’ll always take care of you and never leave you. If you have a heart, it breaks, if you have a heart that’s broken, it fixes. Patrick Ness
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HereIt's like the song of a family where everything's always all right, it's a song of belonging that makes you belong just by hearing it, it's a song that'll always take care of you and never leave you. If you have a heart, it breaks, if you have a heart that's broken, it fixes. Patrick Ness
44
Your stomach isn't the boss of you, ' Mel says evenly.' Oh, ' Jared says, realizing. 'Sorry-'Mel shakes her head, brushing it off. 'Not what I meant. Your heart isn't the boss of you other. Thinks it is. Isn't. You can always choose. Always.''You can't choose not to feel, ' Henna says.' But you can choose how to act. Patrick Ness
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I have had as many names as there are years to time itself! roared the monster. I am Herne the Hunter! I am Cernunnos! I am the eternal Green Man! Patrick Ness
46
We share out craziness, our neuroses, our little bit of screwed-up-ness that comes from our family. We share it. And it feels like love. Patrick Ness
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But when you choose your family, you get to choose how it is between you, too. Patrick Ness
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It's like he's my family, except better, because I've chosen him. Patrick Ness
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Funny how you can forget that every family isn't like yours. Patrick Ness
50
Yeah, my parents are crappy, but you hurt either of my sisters and I will spend my life finding ways to destroy you. Patrick Ness
51
The answer is that it does not matter what you think, the monster said, because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day. Patrick Ness
52
And what exactly do you think this proves?" he spits. "You've got power, but you don't know what to do wit Patrick Ness
53
I think how hope may be the thing that pulls you forward, may be the thing that keeps you going, but that it's dangerous, too, that it's painful and risky, that it's making a dare into the world and when has the world ever let us win a dare? Patrick Ness
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Who is to say that it is not everything else that is the dream? Patrick Ness
55
You won't, " says the Mayor, smiling again. "Everyone knows you aren't a killer, Todd."He pushes Viola forward again -She calls out from the pain of it -Viola, I t Patrick Ness
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Belief is half of healing. Patrick Ness
57
People see stories everywhere, " Regine says. "That's what my father used to say. We take random events and we string them together in a pattern so we can comfort ourselves with a story, no matter how much it obviously isn't true." She glances back at Seth. "We have to lie to ourselves to live. Otherwise, we'd go crazy. Patrick Ness
58
I couldn't stand the waiting anymore. I couldn't stand how alone it made me feel." And a part of you wished it would just end, said the monster, even if it meant losing her. And the nightmare began. The nightmare that always ended with -"I let her go, " Conor choked out. "I could have held on but I let her go." And that, the monster said, is the truth." I didn't mean it, though! " Conor said, his voice rising. "I didn't mean to let her go! And now it's for real! Now she's going to die and it's my fault! " And that, the monster said, is not the truth at all. Patrick Ness
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He answered the phone to his daughter with a broken but joyous heart, ready to speak with her of astonishment and wonder. Patrick Ness
60
Mikey, " she says, but not like she's about to say anything more, just like she's identifying me, making a place for me here that's mine to exist in. I want her so much, my heart feels heavy, like I'm grieving. Is this what they meant about that stomach feeling? They didn't say it felt this sad. Patrick Ness
61
There's her silence, loud as a roar, pulling at me like the greatest sadness ever, like I want to take it and press myself into it and just disappear forever down into nothing. What a relief that would feel like right now. What a blessed relief. Patrick Ness
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We stay watching the fire, which probably is just a fire, but we watch it together. Me and my friends. And there'll be a tomorrow, of course there will, when it all begins again, but right now is almost a kind of loop for me, something to feel on the inside of, but this time it's good. It's a loop with my friends that would even be a pretty damn good forever. Patrick Ness
63
I don't believe in guardian angels, " Regine says seriously. "Just people who are there for you and people who aren't. Patrick Ness
64
No one ever seems to wonder what happens if it turns out we hate living on a planet? What if the sky’s too big? What if the air stinks? What if we go hungry?’‘ And what if the air tastes of honey? What if there’s so much food we all get too fat? What if the sky is so beautiful we don’t get any work done because we’re all looking at it too much? Patrick Ness
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He really is alone in whatever hell this is. Completely and utterly alone.' It isn't, ' he thinks, as he trudges back toward his house, 'the most unfamiliar feeling in the world. Patrick Ness
66
Just remember, please, most of that stuff is in the past. It isn't the story I want to tell. At all. You needed to know it, but for the rest of this, I'm choosing my own story. Because if you can't do that, you might as well just give up. Patrick Ness
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But this, all this, isn't the story I'm trying to tell. This is all past. This is the part of your life where it gets taken over by other people's stories and there's nothing you can do about it except hold on tight and hope you're still alive at the end to take up your own story again. So that's what we did. Me, Mel, and Meredith all moved on, and we're the stories we're living now. Aren't we? Patrick Ness
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I wanted so badly for there to be more. I ached for there to be more than my crappy little life.' He shakes his head. 'And there was more. I just couldn't see it. Patrick Ness
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Her accent's funny, different from mine, different from anyone in Prentisstown's. Her lips make different kinds of outlines for the letters, like they're swooping down on them from above, pushing them into shape, telling them what to say. In Prentisstown, everyone talks like they're sneaking up on their words, ready to club them from behind. Patrick Ness
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And I put my hand on her arm to stop her rowing. Aaron’s Noise roars up in red and black. The current takes us on.“ I’m sorry! ” I cry as the river takes us away, my words ragged things torn from me, my chest pulled so tight I can’t barely breathe. “I’m sorry, Manch Patrick Ness
71
I wish I had a hundred years, " she said, very quietly. "A hundred years I could give to you. Patrick Ness
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A man without a filter, is chaos walking Patrick Ness
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Blame is a human concept, one of its blackest and most selfish and self-binding. Patrick Ness
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Like how stars might sound. Or moons But not mountains. Too floaty for mountains. It's a sound like one planet singing to another, high stretched and full of different voices starting at different notes and sloping down to other different notes but all weaving together in a rope of sound that's sad but not sad and slow but not slow and all singing one word. One word. Patrick Ness
75
He is worse than the others, I show. He is worst of all of them. Because— Because he knew he was doing wrong. He felt the pain of his actions— But he did not amend them, shows the Sky.The rest are worth as much as their pack animals, I show, but worst is the one who knows better and does nothing. Patrick Ness
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Cuz how do you know yer alive if you don't hurt? Patrick Ness
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Stories don't always have happy endings." This stopped him. Because they didn't, did they? That's one thing the monster had definitely taught him. Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect. Patrick Ness
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Yes", Kumiko said, seriously. "Exactly that. The extraordinary happens all the time. So much, we can't take it. Life and happiness and heartache and love. If we couldn't put it in story - ""And explain it -""No! " she said, suddenly sharp. "Not explain. Stories do not explain. They seem to, but all they provide is a starting point. The story never ends at the end. There is always after. And even within itself, even by saying that this version is the right one, it suggests other versions, versions that exist in parallel. No, story is not an explanation, it is a net, a net through which the truth flows. The net catches some of the truth, but not all, never all, only enough so that we can live with the extraordinary without it killing us." She sagged a little, as if exhausted by this speech. "As it surely, surely would. Patrick Ness
79
Who am I? I am the spine that the mountains hang upon! I am the tears that the rivers cry! I am the lungs that breathe the wind! I am the wolf that kills the stag, the hawk that kills the mouse, the spider that kills the fly! I am the stag, the mouse and the fly that are eaten! I am the snake of the world devouring its tail! I am everything untamed and untameable! Patrick Ness
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Did it matter? George thought perhaps it did, and not in terms of finding truth or of any hope of discovering what really happened at any given moment. There were as many truths - overlapping, stewed together - as there were tellers. The truth mattered less than story's life. A story forgotten died. A story remembered not only lived, but grew. Patrick Ness
81
To say you have no choice is to relieve yourself of responsibility. Patrick Ness
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Choices may be unbelievably hard but they're never impossible. To say you have no choice is to release yourself from responsibility and that's not how a person with integrity acts. Patrick Ness
83
But I don't care what you think, not about these things anyway. If you don't think they're real or important or you think that we'll all grow out of this nonsense, well, that's not really my business. I can't tell you what's real for you. But in return, you can't say what's real for me either. I get to choose. Not you. Patrick Ness
84
And I look right into his eyes, right into him as far as I can see, because I want him to hear me, I want him to hear me with everything I mean and feel and say. Patrick Ness
85
You’re a good boy. I wish you didn’t have to be quite so good Patrick Ness
86
It's not how we fall. It's how we get back up again. Patrick Ness
87
Never pass up the chance to be kissing someone. It's the worst kind of regret. Patrick Ness
88
And what other kind of man would you want leading you into battle?” he says, reading my Noise. “What other kind of man is suitable for war?” A monster, I think, remembering what Ben told me once. War makes monsters of men.“ Wrong, ” says the Mayor. “It’s war that makes us men in the first place. Until there’s war, we are only children.” Another blast of the horn comes roaring down at us, so loud it nearly takes our heads off and it puts the army off its stride for a second or two. We look up the road to the bottom of the hill. We see Spackle torches gathering there to meet us.“ Ready to grow up, Todd?” the Mayor asks. . Patrick Ness
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What a sad thing men are. Can't do nothing good without being so weak we have to mess it up. Can't build something up without tearing it down. Patrick Ness
90
The justifications of men who kill should always be heard with skepticism, said the monster. Patrick Ness
91
What happens to you when you get older? Do you just forget everything from before you turned eighteen? Do you make yourself forget? Patrick Ness
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It'll make you look rugged, ' Mel says.' Because I woke up this morning, ' I say, 'and the one thing I realized I lacked was ruggedness. Patrick Ness
93
Feelings don't try to kill you, even the painful ones. Anxiety is a feeling grown too large. A feeling grown aggressive and dangerous. You're responsible for its consequences, you're responsible for treating it Patrick Ness
94
And I know I’ve lost. Everything is lost. Everything is over.“ As the newly appointed President of this fair planet of ours, ” the Mayor says, holding out his hands as if to show me the world for the first time, ” let me be the very first to welcome you to its new capital city.”“ Todd?” Viola whispers, her eyes closed. I hold her tightly to me.“ I’m sorry, ” I whisper to her. “I’m so sorry.” We’ve run right into a trap. We’ve run right off the end of the world.“ Welcome, ” says the Mayor, ” to the New Prentisstown. Patrick Ness
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In this world of numbness and information overload, the ability to feel, my boy, is a rare gift indeed. Patrick Ness
96
I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to live long enough so I can really live. Patrick Ness
97
A sematary, " I say. "A what?" Viola says, looking round at all the square stones marking out their graves. Must be a hundred, maybe two, in orderly rows and well-kept grass. Settler life is hard and it's short and lotsa New World people have lost the battle." It's a place for burying dead folk, " Patrick Ness
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HELP! ”I race to the square, crossing it, looking all around, listenin Patrick Ness
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There's a bunch od huge churchs clustered together, trying to blend in with all the family-themed restaurants, because salvation is as easy as chicken wings, I guess. Patrick Ness
100
He's seeing the actual Milky Way streaked across the sky. The whole of his entire galaxy, right there in front of him. Billions and billions of stars. Billions and billions of worlds. All of them, all of those seemingly endless possibilities, not fictional, but real, out there, existing, right now. There is so much more out there than just the world he knows, so much more than his tiny Washington town, so much more than even London. Or England. Or hell, for that matter. So much more that he'll never see. So much more that he'll never get to. So much that he can only glimpse enough of to know that it's forever beyond his reach. Patrick Ness