UnWholly Quotes
"But who is he kidding? Even without the constant media blitz, Starkey’s been a potential candidate for unwinding since the moment he arrived on the doorstep."
"‘The fights, the drugs, the stolen car—and now being expelled from yet another school. What’s next, Mason?’"
"Words don’t hurt you. Which is one of the hugest criminal lies perpetrated by adults against children in this world."
"We care enough about you to end your bad choices before they end you."
"We’re not having this discussion! Go back to bed!"
"There’s no chicken in the bucket, though. Instead there’s a hand-drawn map."
"‘Congratulations, asshole,’ he says to himself. ‘You’ve been storked.’"
"The Juvenile Authority knows about us. They know where we are and what we’re doing—but so far they’ve left us alone."
"Aww, that’s too bad. Why not? ‘Because tithing shouldn’t be about me.’"
"‘We made a pact with God,’ her parents told her when she was young, ‘that if you were born, and Matteo was saved, we would show our gratitude by gifting you back to God through tithing.’"
"It’s like a scary movie, you know? You can have fun with it because you know it’s not real no matter how scared it makes you."
"‘The only reason you’re at peace with it,’ her father tells her, ‘is because we made you feel that way. It’s our fault. It’s all our fault.’"
"It’s not a test, it’s just a mental exercise to find out what you remember and what you still need to learn."
"‘You’re strong, but your muscle groups don’t work and play well with others.’"
"‘The healing agents can only do so much,’ says his physical therapist—a deep-voiced bodybuilder with the unlikely name of Kenny. ‘The rest has to come from you.’"
"‘You’re not random, Cam. You are intelligently designed.’"
"‘Every part of you was handpicked from the best and the brightest,’ Roberta tells him, ‘and I was there at each unwinding, so you would see me, hear me, and know me once all the parts were united.’"
"He has no idea what language it is, but he knows what it means, all the same."
"As you can see by your surroundings, we have very powerful backing to support you, so that you may continue to grow and prosper."
"It doesn’t matter who. They’re friends. Not just your friends, but friends of a world we all want to live in."
"The scars will heal—in fact, the healing agents are already taking effect. Soon those scars will vanish completely, leaving the faintest of lines where the grafts meet."
"It was a choice we made to give you a piece of every ethnicity. From the palest sienna-Caucasian, to the darkest umber tones of unspoiled Africa, and everything in between."
"You are everyman, Cam, and the truth of it is evident in your face."
"This marathon I’m on... now it’s as easy as pie. Not feeling wasted at all."
"All a part of your healing, all a part of your growth."
"Who are you? What is it you want?" "We want what you no longer want," Connor tells him. "We want your son."
"You have no right to do this!" the mother yells. "The truth!" demands Connor.
"We tried to be good parents... but there’s a point at which you give up trying." "No, there’s not," Connor tells her.
It’s because of him that the Cap-17 law passed, you know," Risa says. "I wonder how he feels about that.
"I’m not an idiot. I know what’s going on."
"If you wanted me with you, you would have built a ramp."
If no one is listening, then who’s it for?" "First off," says Hayden, "your assumption that no one is listening is incorrect.
"So, in other words you decided to unwind your son because of peer pressure?"
"I really do like your eyes. I like them much more than the ones I have now."
"Get used to it. You're not just some random Unwind anymore; to these kids, you are the resistance."
"We're the vault! And as long as we pull AWOLs off the street, it keeps the price high."
"Never wield a weapon unless you're willing to use it."
"Playing both sides is a time-honored strategy."
"You've become my life, you know that, don't you?"
"Well, good for you. Now get out of my sight. I don’t need spiritual guidance from baby Jesus."
"If you must have a construct, then think of it this way: We are."
"Once you get wound in with bad people, the unwinding never ends."
"The most expensive organ is a heart full of love and a soul filled with compassion."
"Miracles are gifts from God. To call them his property insults the spirit in which they are given."
"When you live a life without questions, you're unprepared for the questions when they come."
"The only voice who spoke sense was my brother Marcus, but I was too blind to hear him."
"If what I'm doing is wrong, then by all means strike me down. Otherwise, set me free."
"The measure of a man is not how much he suffers in the test, but how he comes out at the end."
"I'm not a role model! I was a clapper. A terrorist! I made awful decisions!"
"We are all tested in this life. The measure of a man is not how much he suffers in the test, but how he comes out at the end."
"To celebrate an undivided life is the finest goal of all."
"History is written by the victors—and when there are no victors, it all winds up in corporate shredders."
"You must educate yourself, Mr. Lassiter. They may not teach it, but they can’t blot it out entirely."
"Don’t be sorry. Just do something about it."
"Does a sick society get so used to its illness that it can’t remember being well?"
"Once education was restructured and corporatized, they didn’t want kids knowing how close they came to toppling the government."
"The truth hasn’t set Connor free, as Trace has suggested, but at least it has given him a sense of power over his captors."
"Good. A leader should know things no one else does, and spoon out information on a need-to-know basis."
"The very reason why people were so willing to accept the Unwind Accord. The very reason for our twisted way of life."
"The Unwind Accord wasn’t just about ending the war—it was also a way to take down the terror generation."
"Credit where credit is due, and honor to the trickster whose illusions finally become real."
"The best we can hope to do is save as many of these kids as we can."
"We’re supposed to be a couple. . . . So I’ll smile and do my job for the camera."
"It’s not their fault. I’m not a dog that got off its leash, so don’t treat me like one."
"You know, I’m so glad you didn’t blow yourself to smithereens last year, young man. Because you’ve just saved this girl’s life."
"The fact is, it hadn’t mattered what Lev told him—what mattered was Nelson believing it."
"I’m not. I just don’t want to die a senseless death."
"Then maybe you should start praying. I sure am."
"Were you telling the truth?" Miracolina asks.
"You did it! That was great!" he can hear Miracolina saying, although he can’t see her."
Their work is good," he says. "It just isn’t mine.
I know," Lev tells him as Connor slips from consciousness, "but maybe mine will.
"It’s only after she leaves that the anger begins to rise in him."
"He’s so tightly wedged in by the accordioned cockpit, not even a boeuf of his strength can get out."
"Then, when they’re a good distance away from the shack, he says, "I’m really going to need your help now. You have to help me warn my friend."
"Everybody up! We can’t waste our time licking our wounds and mourning the dead. We’ve got to get out of here."
"Let’s move! We’ll rest when we’re safe."
"When will we ever be safe?" someone asks. Starkey doesn’t answer, because he knows they’ll probably never be.
"Would you rather die... or would you rather be unwound?"
"Even if there is such a thing as ‘living in a divided state,’ if we get unwound, the Juvies win. We can’t let them win."
"You look like a deer in headlights," Connor whispers to Lev. "Stop it."
"We are not just AWOLs! We are not just parts! We are whole human beings—and history will look back on these times in shame!"
"It’s like a plump old peach, ripe and ready to drop."
"Either things happen for a reason, or they happen for no reason at all. Either one’s life is a thread in a glorious tapestry or humanity is just a hopelessly tangled knot."
"Imagine a world where loved ones who die young don’t really die—because every part of them can be donated to ease someone else’s suffering."
"We move in and out of darkness and light all of our lives. Right now, I’m pleased to be in the light."
"You need to know that not everyone’s your enemy."
"There’s ordinary people out there doing extraordinary things."
"If you ever stop laughing, it might just tear you apart worse than a Chop Shop."