Wendelin Van Draanen

21 quotes

Biography

Wendelin Van Draanen is an American writer of children's and young-adult fiction.

"Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss...."He turned to me. "But every once in a while, you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"...Next time you're faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"It's easy to look back and see it, and it's easy to give the advice. But the sad fact is, most people don't look beneath the surface until it's too late."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"You can't dwell on what might have been...and it's not fair to condemn him for something he hasn't done."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"A painting is more than the sum of its parts,' he would tell me, and then go on to explain how the cow by itself is just a cow, and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers, and the sun peeking through the trees is just a beam of light, but put them all together and you've got magic."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"The room fell quiet. And as I read down the list of over one hundred and fifty eight-grade boys, I realized that to me, there had only ever been one boy."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"Sometimes a little discomfort in the beginning can save a whole lot of pain down the road."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"What he did to my heart was sheer, inexplicable, magic."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"What I'm expecting is for you to behave like the gentleman I always thought you were."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"Proper lighting is everything, Julianna."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in my life, I had that feeling. You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you're floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you from drifting away is the other person's eyes. They're connected to yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"What did a kiss feel like, anyway? Somehow I knew it wouldn't be like the one I got from Mom or Dad at bedtime. The same species, maybe, but a radically different beast, to be sure. Like a wolf and a whippet—only science would put them on the same tree."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"I asked you to conquer your fear, but all you did was give in to it. If you were in love with her, that would be one thing. Love is something to be afraid of, but this, this is embarrassing. So she talks too much, so she's too enthused about every little thing, so what? Get in, get your question answered, and get out. Stand up to her, for cryin' out loud!”"

Wendelin Van Draanen

"“Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss….” He turned to me. “But every once in a while you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.”"

Wendelin Van Draanen

"...something can be so much more than the parts it took to make it, and why people need things around them that lift them above their lives and make them feel the miracle of living."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"I'd never looked at our house, or even our side of the street, and said, Oh! I wish we lived in the new development—those houses are so much newer, so much better! This is where I'd grown up. This was my home."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"“There's nothing like a head-strong woman to make you happy to be alive.”"

Wendelin Van Draanen

"I told about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. “It's that way with people, too,” he said, “only with people it's sometimes that the whole is less than the sum of the parts.”"

Wendelin Van Draanen

"One's character is set at an early age, son. The choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life." He was quiet for a minute then dropped the curtain and said, "I hate to see you swim out so far you can't swim back."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"There’s no winning arguments with your parents, so why get all pumped up over them? It is way better to dive down and get out of the way than it is to get clobbered by some parental tidal wave."

Wendelin Van Draanen

"Don't even try to talk to me when I'm watching the moon. That's my moon, baby."

Wendelin Van Draanen