Just when you think this war has taken everything you loved, you meet someone and realize that somehow you still have more to give.

— Ruta Sepetys

Killers aren't always assassins. Sometimes, they don't even have blood on their hands.

— Ruta Sepetys

Light fell, and so did my confidence.

— Ruta Sepetys

Mother was anchor. Mother was comfort. Mother was home. A girl who lost her mother was suddenly a tiny boat on an angry ocean. Some boats eventually floated ashore. And some boats, like me, seemed to float farther and farther from land.

— Ruta Sepetys

Mother was comfort. Mother was home. A girl who lost her mother was suddenly a tiny boat on an angry ocean. Some boats eventually floated ashore. And some boats, like me, seemed to float farther and farther from land

— Ruta Sepetys

Mother, why are you breaking your beautiful things?' I asked...' Because I love them so much.

— Ruta Sepetys

My arm began moving, turning the invisible crank of Death's music box. Somewhere inside, I didn't want the melody to end.

— Ruta Sepetys

My husband, Andrews, says that evil will rule until good men or women choose to act. I believe him. This testimony was written to create an absolute record, to speak in a world where our voices have been extinguished. These writing may shock or horrify you, but that is not my intention. It is my greatest hope that the pages in this jar stir your deepest well of human compassion. I hope they prompt you to do something, to tell someone. Only then can we ensure that this kind of evil is never allowed to repeat itself.

— Ruta Sepetys

My war had been so long, my winter so cold. But I had made it home. And for the first time in a long time, I was not afraid.

— Ruta Sepetys

New Orleans is unlike any city in America. Its cultural diversity is woven into the food, the music, the architecture - even the local superstitions. It's a sensory experience on all levels and there's a story lurking around every corner.

— Ruta Sepetys