Not all monsters are filled with darkness.' She wanted him to understand this so badly that her voice trembled. He didn't even hesitate. 'This one is.' She allowed herself a moment to admire Tommy, the way he stood so resolute, like a knight charging after the monster. He just didn't get that this fight wasn't his to wage.' Exactly so,' she finally said. Of course Tommy would think she's talking to him. He exhaled as though relieved and the start of a smile eased the tension around his lips. By the time he realized that she'd spoken the words to someone over his shoulder, it was already too late.

— Carrie Ryan

She must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

— Carrie Ryan

Sometimes it’s the mistakes that turn out to be Thebes parts of life,

— Carrie Ryan

Survivors aren't always the strongest; sometimes they're the smartest, but more often simply the luckiest.

— Carrie Ryan

The broken ones need someone to fight for them even harder.

— Carrie Ryan

The living used to wonder what happened after death. She said that whole religions were born and evolved around this one simple uncertainty.

— Carrie Ryan

There is a child - a baby - who long since kicked off her blankets. Her skin is ashen and her mouth open in a perpetual yet silent scream. She isn't old enough to roll over, to sit up, to climb. So she lies there kicking her fat legs against the footboard of the crib, eternally calling for her mother. For food. For flesh.

— Carrie Ryan

We're both just human. Nothing more. But also nothing less.

— Carrie Ryan

Who are we if not the stories we pass down? What happens when there's no one left to tell those stories? To hear them? Who will ever know that I existed? What if we are the only ones left -- who will know our stories then? Who will remember those?

— Carrie Ryan

You're stubborn-anyone ever tell you that before?

— Carrie Ryan