Alexandra Monir > Quotes

“A funny thing happens when you have nothing left to live for. Your existence loses all its sharp edges. There are no more steep drops, no hills to climb. Colors blur and muddle together until your surroundings are a bunch of meaningless shapes and figures painted in the same shade of gray. There's nothing that could possibly surprise you or resurrect those old sensations of joy or fear. No humans could be as unfeeling, as numb, as you are. And then, just when you're getting lulled into the monotonous routine, something snaps. No more.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Final Six

“Philip's blue eyes sparkled as he and Kaya shared a joke. He broke into his signature smile, and for the first time, Michele found it heartbreaking. But then, isn't that always the case with a smile - when you know it's not meant for you?”
― Alexandra Monir, Timekeeper

“Remember what you always say: no problem has ever been solved by panicking.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Final Six

“Just then, I notice Mrs. Mulgrave giving the younger woman beside her a slight push in my direction.
"This is my daughter, Maisie. She will be your maid."
"Maisie?" I can't help blurting out in astonishment.
I hardly recognize her. The past seven years have transformed Maisie from a plain preteen into a beautiful young adult. I didn't expect her to be so... pretty. She wears a black tee with black pants, but the simple clothing and lack of makeup only enhances her looks. She has heavy-lidded deep brown eyes, clear skin with the hint of a tan, the kind of plush pink lips that housewives in my New York hometown would pay good money for, and long brown hair highlighted with strands of gold. Her only adornments are a thick wristwatch and a rectangular pendant hanging on a chain around her neck.
I feel a pang of sympathy as I look from mother to daughter. If Maisie's luck had been different---if she'd been born to parents like the Marinos---she could have had the world at her feet, instead of being shut up in a house working as a maid.”
― Alexandra Monir, Suspicion

“Because you're fresh air," he says. "Being around you, hearing your music and listening to you talk, watching you smile...it makes me forget all the bad in the world.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Girl in the Picture

“Risk is the price of progress.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Final Six

“You will learn that the single most dangerous weapon, before any ammunition, is your voice - and how you choose to use it.”
― Alexandra Monir, Black Canary: Breaking Silence

“There's a big difference between perception and misconception.”
― Alexandra Monir, Suspicion

“Jasmine gazed out through the window, past the lantern-lit gardens and sparkling crystal fountains of the palace grounds, toward the sand dunes and mountains towering in the distance. They were promises of thrills waiting to be discovered... if she could only get to them.
"Do you remember what you said when we first met, when you thought I was a handmaiden?" she asked Aladdin. "You told me the palace was your favorite view in the whole world."
"It was the most amazing sight I'd ever seen, that's for sure. After you, of course." He ruffled her hair playfully. "To see those white-and-gold domed roofs towering over the city, the castle rising from the dunes... it was a wonder, especially from where I was sitting. It still is."
"My favorite view has always been this one." Jasmine's expression turned wistful as she nodded at the window. "You wanted to get in, while I was desperate to get out and see the world. And now..."
"Now you're locked in," he finished, his smile fading. "And everyone wants me out."
"Well. Hardly everyone," she reminded him.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“Atossa, Jasmine read. Daughter of Cyrus the First. In a land where royal daughters normally faded into obscurity, Atossa was one of the few names Jasmine recognized from her tutor's teachings: a daughter and later wife of influence in the old Achaemenid days.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“They’ve gotten to you—” I start to say, but Lark gives me a sharp look before raising her eyes to the ceiling. I follow her gaze to a blinking green light. Security camera. “There are casualties of every mission,” she says, her voice a tinge too loud, as if performing for someone out of sight. “I know that better than anyone. All you can do is keep moving forward. Do your best here—in Suki’s honor.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Final Six

“Running my hands over the dirt, I suddenly feel an unfamiliar, electric charge buzzing through my fingertips. I jump back, hands trembling.
"Are you all right?" Sebastian asks, his green eyes glancing down at me with concern.
"Mm-hmm." I look away in embarrassment before returning to my task, gingerly spreading more dirt over the seeds. The buzzing shoots through my hands once again and my eyes squeeze shut in pain.
And then I hear Sebastian gasp. I open my eyes as Lucia shouts, "Where did her flower come from? Is this a trick?"
Bewildered, I glance in front of me---and stifle a scream.
A glorious Canterbury bell stands in full bloom, where moments ago there were only seeds. Its violet petals are damp from the water I just sprinkled over the dirt, and I gape at the impossible sight in disbelief.”
― Alexandra Monir, Suspicion

“Jasmine crossed the room to the balcony and opened the doors to find Aladdin floating in midair behind the railing, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Look who came back," he said, before soaring above her on a large Persian carpet woven in an intricate pattern of rich blues and gold.
"Magic Carpet!" Jasmine exclaimed. For a brief moment, her troubles faded from view as Carpet and Aladdin landed on the balcony beside her. Carpet bowed with a flourish, and Jasmine crouched down to hug the colorful fabric. It used its tassels to hug her back. "I thought you were with the Genie!"
"It seems the little fella knew we needed him," Aladdin said, handing Jasmine a folded piece of parchment from his vest pocket. The Genie's loopy blue handwriting filled the page:


Al and Jas,
Can you take this carpet off my hands? It's getting to be a real drag, just letting me walk all over it. (Ba-da-bum!)
For real, though, a little bird told me that you could use a pick-me-up. Since Carpet can literally take care of that, he's yours. Just save me a couple weeks a year for my annual World Carpet Tour, okay?
Good luck, kids, and know I'm always rooting for you,
G


Jasmine hugged the parchment to her chest.
"Thank you, Genie." She met Aladdin's eyes. "It's amazing, isn't it, how he always knows?"
"It must come with the all-powerful-greatness package.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“Jasmine emerged from her bedroom in a crystal-embellished ivory organza dress over sheer trousers with a turquoise beaded peacock cape over her shoulders. She felt like she was floating in the dress as Nadia walked behind her, holding the train of her cape. Suddenly, Jasmine realized something was missing.
"Just a moment, please."
She turned back swiftly, returning to her bedroom and dressing table. Pulling open the drawer, she found the marble jewelry box she was looking for, with a jade cuff bracelet inside. It wouldn't match her coronation robes, but it was just the finishing touch Jasmine needed: her mother's favorite piece of jewelry.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“But my parents who died in the fire, they...they were part of a noble family in England. The family has always owned the Rockford Manor in Oxfordshire, which is a mansion that includes acres of land, plus a local village where people live and farm---"
"Wait, noble? Do you mean like royalty?" Zoey interrupts, her eyes wide.
"No, no. But in England there's a system called the peerage---dukes and duchesses, earls and countesses---and they're ranked just below royalty. My dad was the younger son of the Duke of Wickersham, which made him a lord and my mom a lady."
Carole and Keith sit frozen, listening to me with a look of dread in their eyes.
"So what does that make you?" Zoey asks breathlessly.
"Well, when my parents were alive, it meant that I was treated a certain way just because I was part of this family of dukes and duchesses. But then after the fire, the line of succession changed---everything changed. My first cousin, Lucia, became next in line to inherit Rockford Manor and the title. So she would have been the Duchess of Wickersham." I swallow hard. "But she died in an accident last year---which I didn't even know about until today." My hands shake as I speak, and I can't look at Keith and Carole, unable to grasp how they could have kept this from me.
"That's awful! But what does it mean for you?" Zoey presses.
"Her death left me next in line after my grandfather. And he passed away last month---which I was also unaware of." This time I'm able to look at Carole and Keith, shooting them a withering glare.
Zoey's mouth hangs open.
"That means you're...you're a...?"
"Yeah. You're looking at the new Duchess of Wickersham and owner of Rockford Manor.”
― Alexandra Monir, Suspicion

“Imagination is what gives rise to reality”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“When she left, it was like the sun slipped from the universe”
― Alexandra Monir, The Life Below

“Jasmine stared at the crown's towering frame of gold, silver, and red velvet, studded with thousands of diamonds and rows of identical white pearls. The largest diamond of all, a brilliant yellow stone, shone at the apex of the crown, surrounded by a sunburst of white diamonds. Even as a princess, she hadn't touched anything so exquisite before.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“Anyone who had to puff themselves up to that extent wasn't for her. It was the same reason she had initially rebuffed "Prince Ali," until he revealed who he really was. An unpolished but true gem would always be her choice over the flashy and ostentatious pretenders.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“I like that about you," I tell him.
"And I like everything about you," he murmurs into my hair.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Girl in the Picture

“So you may get homesick, but you'll never go hungry.”
― Alexandra Monir

“Seeing the happiness on both of their faces was like standing beneath the sun, lifting my face to its rays, and yet cut off from feeling any of its warmth.”
― Alexandra Monir, The Girl in the Picture

“History is my strong suit."
She had long ago taken it upon herself to read every book in the palace library, after discovering just how flimsy her education was. While the sons and daughters of palace courtiers came home from school each day brimming with new knowledge, Jasmine was kept at home with a tutor--- and her private lessons in etiquette and art weren't exactly the foundation that kings were built on. Sometimes Jasmine had the sneaking suspicion that Taminah never expected her to end up on the throne at all, that she was preparing the princess to be a royal wife instead. After all, she had mentioned more than once the possibility of Jasmine having a son in the future who could rule in her stead. But one other thing the older woman had done right was introduce Jasmine to books, especially Agrabah's myths and fables, in which terrors jumped from every page. Stories with heroes and demons so vivid, they could have been real.
After she had read all the stories she could get her hands on, Jasmine moved on to history texts and illustrated maps. Hers might have been an incomplete education, but those books allowed a sheltered princess to see some of the world, both real and imagined. And they gave her a window into the past.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“Some girls stock their carryons with SPF or extra clothes for a rainy day, I on the other hand am the type to bring a portable electron microscope”
― Alexandra Monir, The Final Six

“Aladdin may be a part of your... personal life, but he is no statesman. If you want to be taken seriously by the ministers who run your government, you would do well to separate your young romance from your role as our country's leader."
His voice dripped with condescension. Jasmine felt a flash of fury.
"And you would do well to remember to whom you are speaking," she said, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. "This isn't just some 'youthful romance,' as you call it. Aladdin is my intended husband. The future consort to your sultana. Speak of him with respect.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“Now, for your final lesson of the day, it's essential that you know why your title was created. Do you have any idea?"
I shake my head sheepishly.
"One of your ancestors, Randolph Henry Rockford, proved to be one of England's greatest military heroes at the turn of the eighteenth century. After he won a number of crucial battles for England, King George I expressed his gratitude by granting him a dukedom over the settlement of Wickersham, along with the massive funds to build a palace worthy of such a hero," Basil explains. "Of course, the papers scoffed that King George was cruel to choose Wickersham, for the land was notoriously barren, especially in comparison to Oxfordshire's other, far more verdant towns. But eventually the fifth Duchess of Wickersham, Lady Beatrice, changed all of that."
"What did she do?" I ask.
"I suppose you could say she was the ultimate green thumb. Within a year, ugly old Wickersham was transformed into one of the most beautiful, frequently painted landscapes in England."
This is the first moment of our lesson where I feel a flicker of interest.
"How did she do it?"
Basil hesitates.
"It's hard to separate truth from fiction on that account. I suppose we'll never know.”
― Alexandra Monir, Suspicion

“Out of all the palace's awe-inspiring interiors, the Round Library had always been Jasmine's favorite. A marble floor painted with a lotus-flower motif gave way to three tiers of balconies lined with books, stretching up to an arched ceiling where a bronze chandelier flooded the circular space with candlelight. Bound books had still been a novelty when the sultan was young, but in the intervening years, he'd amassed a collection of nearly three thousand titles from across the East. This was where Jasmine had come to fill in the gaps in her knowledge while her nonroyal peers were sent off to school. It was thanks to the books in this room that she'd learned to read and write in Greek and Latin along with Persian and Arabic, that she could look at an astrolabe and point out the different planets in the universe. It was where she'd fallen in love with studying maps and imagining other lands, far from here”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“That which is above is from what which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above.
A casual reader could have easily interpreted the line to mean that the sun and moon and earth are all connected. But when she read it, all Jasmine could think of was... another world. A world beyond this one. Especially when later sections of the text described the principles of turning base metals into gold and predicted the future creation of an "Elixir of Life"--- immortality--- Jasmine knew her father's interest in this book ran far deeper than mere curiosity.
She could feel it.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders

“For more than a century now, Lady Beatrice Rockford (1811-1850) has been known as "that wicked American" and her husband, the fifth Duke of Wickersham, the victim forced to send her to the gallows. But these roles are ludicrously reversed. The real ugly stain in my family history is my ancestor, the duke who murdered his wife simply because she was capable of something he had never seen. He feared what he didn't understand, and let his fear drive him to evil.
Is there anything inherently wrong in having a paranormal talent? More than likely, Lady Beatrice didn't wish for her gift, and with the exception of the burned garden, which she instantly restored, there are no accounts of her ever using her skill to cause any harm.
If we misconstrue that which we don't understand as frightening or criminal, then we are lost. But if we recognize differences in others as something beautiful or miraculous---even, or especially, differences as astounding as Lady Beatrice's---then we all win in the end.”
― Alexandra Monir, Suspicion

“She dove to the foot of the bed, dodging for the knife just before it sliced through her curtains. Rajah leaped up off the floor, roaring in fury as he tore toward the intruder, giving Jasmine a moment to slide off the edge of the bed. Her feet hit the carpet and she readied her fists, ill-equipped but determined to fight back. Whatever monster belonged to this shadow... she wouldn't let it take her.”
― Alexandra Monir, Realm of Wonders