Top 280 Angie Thomas Quotes (2026 Update)
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201. “My thing is, girls usually date boys who are like their daddies, and I ain’t gon’ lie, when I saw that white – Chris,” he corrects, and I smile. “I got worried. Thought I turned you against black men or didn’t set a good example of a black man. I couldn’t handle that.”

— Angie Thomas

202. “I knew it was a daily fight for her to stay clean. I just didn’t realize I was the reason she fights.”

— Angie Thomas

203. “The hospital fired her ’cause she was sick.”

— Angie Thomas

204. “The first Aunt Viv was the best Aunt Viv.”

— Angie Thomas

205. “But we can’t,” he says, voice strained. “Not like this.” “Why not?” I slip my hand in his pants, heading for the bulge. “Because you’re not in a good place.”

— Angie Thomas

206. “With me living forty-five minutes away, Tumblr is supposed to be sacred ground where our friendship is cemented. Unfollowing me is the same as saying, ‘I don’t like you anymore.”

— Angie Thomas

207. “We ain’t gotta live there to change things, baby. We just gotta give a damn...”

— Angie Thomas

208. “You can say something racist and not be a racist!”

— Angie Thomas

209. “I mean, it’s one thing to wanna do something. It’s another to think it’s possible.”

— Angie Thomas

210. “If you can’t translate Parentish, this is what they really said: Momma: I don’t condone what you did, and I’m not saying it’s okay, but I probably would’ve done it too. What about you, baby? Daddy: Hell yeah, I would’ve. I love them for that.”

— Angie Thomas

211. “True, but unless you’re in his shoes, don’t judge him. It’s easier to fall into that life than it is to stay outta it, especially in a situation like his.”

— Angie Thomas

212. “God gave you a brain. You don’t need theirs.”

— Angie Thomas

213. “They went to Taipei, the Bahamas, Harry Potter World. I stayed in the hood and saw a cop kill my friend.”

— Angie Thomas

214. “Some people say that your life flashes before your eyes in moments like this. But for me, all the stuff I haven’t done flashes before mine.”

— Angie Thomas

215. “My parents haven’t raised me to fear the police, just to be smart around them.”

— Angie Thomas

216. “I told you guys my grandparents visited, and it was their first time celebrating Thanksgiving. Hailey asked if we ate a cat. Because we’re Chinese.” Ho-ly.”

— Angie Thomas

217. “It would be easy to quit if it was just about me.”

— Angie Thomas

218. “I was floating after my battle, for real. That feeling when the crowd cheered for me is probably what getting high is like, and I’m addicted.”

— Angie Thomas

219. “What’s it about this time?” I ask. “Pop Tarts,” Britt says. Hailey turns to us and points at Luke. “This jerk actually said they’re better warmed up in the microwave.” “Eww,” I say, instead of my usual “Ill,” and Maya goes, “Are you serious?”

— Angie Thomas

220. “Shout-out to Michelle Obama. That health kick of hers made the school take the good stuff from the vending machines and made my business very lucrative.”

— Angie Thomas

221. “But it’s kinda like saying one side of the Death Star is safer than the other. It’s still the goddamn Death Star.”

— Angie Thomas

222. “Please give her peace and courage. As much as I wanna ask you to work this case out a certain way, I know you already got a plan. I ask for some mercy, God. That’s all. Mercy for Garden Heights, for Khalil’s family, for Starr. Help all of us through this.”

— Angie Thomas

223. “I bet she need a distraction, and babies good at helping you forget death. Probably ’cause they so new.”

— Angie Thomas

224. “Folks kill me, thinking they know what I think.”

— Angie Thomas

225. “When you’re a kid in a one-bedroom in the projects, rich is the best thing anybody can be.”

— Angie Thomas

226. “Having to is a responsibility. Wanting to is love.”

— Angie Thomas

227. “You know how many rich white folks come to the courthouse on drug possession?” “A whole lot,” says Jay. “Too many,” Aunt ‘Chelle says. “Every single one gets a little slap on the wrist and goes right back into society, like it’s all good. Black folks or poor folks get on drugs?” “We’re ruined for life,” Jay says.”

— Angie Thomas

228. “Sekani means “joy and merriment.” While he does bring some comedic relief every now and then, I wanted Sekani to be more than that. He represents that pure, genuine black-boy joy that so many young black men possess before life gets in the way, before society stereotypes them.”

— Angie Thomas

229. “Good.” He gets the grapes out the refrigerator. “You still got that old laptop? The one you had before we bought you that expensive-ass fruit one?” I laugh. “It’s an Apple MacBook, Daddy.” “It damn sure wasn’t the price of an apple. Anyway, you got the old one?”

— Angie Thomas

230. “How he could sell the very stuff that took his momma from him? Did he realize that he was taking somebody else’s momma from them?”

— Angie Thomas

231. “A good garden needs good conversation.”

— Angie Thomas

232. “Forget what anyone expects: the only person I have to truly worry about is me.”

— Angie Thomas

233. “Starr,” she says. “It means you go on even though you’re scared. And you’re doing that.”

— Angie Thomas

234. “It’s not logical for a bird to be that big,” I bite out. Really, it’s not. Tweety Bird? The love of my life. Big Bird? I don’t trust that ho. Plus, have they seen his nest? He probably hides bodies in it.”

— Angie Thomas

235. “They didn’t mention that he was unarmed.”

— Angie Thomas

236. “And the thing about the stank-eye is at some point you feel it on you, inviting you to kick some ass or have your ass kicked.”

— Angie Thomas

237. “Done up. The good news? A lot rhymes with “done up.” The bad news? A lot rhymes with “done up.”

— Angie Thomas

238. “Momma thinks coming to Uncle Carlos’s house is normal, but Chris is the kind of normal I really want. The normal where I don’t have to choose which Starr to be.”

— Angie Thomas

239. “Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, I drag myself into this classroom and hand my phone over to Mrs. Murray. Usually I’m cool with an entire hour of not knowing what the president tweeted.”

— Angie Thomas

240. “Who said talking isn’t doing something?’ she says. It’s more productive than silence.”

— Angie Thomas

241. “Daddy watches us; her attack dog, waiting for us to make a wrong move. That’s how they work. Momma does the first round, and if it’s not successful, Daddy goes for the KO. And you never want Daddy to go for the KO.”

— Angie Thomas

242. “By any means necessary didn’t keep Brother Malcolm from dying, possibly at the hands of his own people.”

— Angie Thomas

243. “All these feelings started when we were ten. I have this real clear memory of us wrestling in Malik’s front yard. I was The Rock and he was John Cena. We were obsessed with wrestling videos on YouTube. I pinned Malik down, and while sitting on top of him in his front yard, I suddenly wanted to kiss him. It. Freaked. Me. Out. So I punched him and said in my best The Rock voice, “I’m laying the smackdown on your candy ass!” Basically, I tried to ignore my sexual awakening by imitating The Rock.”

— Angie Thomas

244. “Her name just HAD to be Karen,’ Sonny says. ‘Bet she puts raisins in her potato salad.’ I smirk, and we cross our arms over our chests. Wakanda forever.”

— Angie Thomas

245. “I’d have to do double the work to get half the respect. On top of that, I gotta be just as cutthroat, and I better not show weakness. Basically, I gotta be one of the guys and then some in order to survive.”

— Angie Thomas

246. “Occasionally she goes “Mmm” at some line the same way my grandma does during a sermon. Poetry’s Mrs. Murray’s religion.”

— Angie Thomas

247. “When people die, they sometimes take the living with them.”

— Angie Thomas

248. “Malik thumps Sonny’s forehead. Sonny punches Malik’s shoulder. They go back and forth, punching and swatting at each other. Totally normal. In fact, a Sonny and Malik fight is one of the few things guaranteed in life, right up there with death, taxes, and Kanye West rants.”

— Angie Thomas

249. “It’s even about that little boy in 1955 who nobody recognized at first – Emmett. The messed-up part? There are so many more.”

— Angie Thomas

250. “Give him a name that tells him who he is and who he can be. The world’s gon’ try to do that enough.”

— Angie Thomas