Top 140 Karen M. McManus Quotes (2026 Update)
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101. “Her lips thin, and all I get in return is a curt nod. Looks like our brief bout of camaraderie is over. Note to self: Charlotte doesn’t like being disobeyed.”

— Karen M. McManus

102. “This one has a bruise.” It looks fine to me, but Charlotte is like that fairy tale about the princess and the pea – always pointing out flaws that nobody else notices.”

— Karen M. McManus

103. “I’m the omniscient narrator.”

— Karen M. McManus

104. “Plenty of people get cheated on and don’t lose their minds. Take me, for example. I threw a vase at Charlie’s head and moved on. That’s a normal reaction.”

— Karen M. McManus

105. “Basically never, and look where it’s gotten me. Still living with him at the age of twenty-four. So – learn from my mistakes, okay?” He yawns and scratches his chin. “And get some sleep. I need to do the same.”

— Karen M. McManus

106. “I have four of them, all older than me, all with K names: Kiersten, Katie, Kelsey, and Kara. We’re like the Kardashians, except without any money.”

— Karen M. McManus

107. “I hate department stores. They’re too bright, too loud, and too crammed full of junk that nobody needs. Whenever I’m forced to spend time in one I start thinking about how consumer culture is just one long, expensive, planet-killing distraction from the fact that we’re all going to die eventually.”

— Karen M. McManus

108. “Tripp’s is that sometimes he drinks a little too much when something sets him off.” Her face hardens. “Like a demented old groundskeeper turning positively feral.”

— Karen M. McManus

109. “My wunderkind brother, who skipped a grade and is currently outshining me in every aspect of our senior year, would have been the logical choice.”

— Karen M. McManus

110. “Amen to that,” I say, and Brynn kicks me under the table. Rose points the bottle at me. “Not you specifically. Jesus respects the drinking age.”

— Karen M. McManus

111. “Oh Christ. Does she have a new boyfriend? Does she want me to meet him? Even if he’s rich and generous, I’m not sure I can stomach that. “Okay,” I say.”

— Karen M. McManus

112. “I smiled at her, but wished I were sitting on the other side of the table. I hate seeing Keely and me side by side. She’s so beautiful, all tawny skin and long eyelashes and Angelina Jolie lips. She’s the lead character in a movie and I’m the generic best friend whose name you forget before the credits even start rolling.”

— Karen M. McManus

113. “Oh, I have big plans. Netflix, ice cream, cutting Gabe out of all my pictures and burning his head. It’s gonna be a whole thing.”

— Karen M. McManus

114. “I’d rather live in Regina’s spare room for the rest of my life than hand thousands of dollars to the woman who abandoned me eight years ago and never looked back.”

— Karen M. McManus

115. “Ellery’s eyes are steady on mine, her lips curved in a small, questioning smile. I draw her face closer and before I can overthink it, I kiss her.”

— Karen M. McManus

116. “Well, they should make up their minds,” Charlotte says tightly. “Do they hate Mr. Larkin, or do they hate us? If we’re murderers, then you can’t have it both ways, right?”

— Karen M. McManus

117. “What date was the car brought in, again?” “August thirty-first,” she says. “August thirty-first.” I repeat. My skin prickles, every nerve twitching. Ezra tilts his head. “Why do you look like you just swallowed a grenade?” “Because we came in from LA the night before that. August thirtieth, remember? The hailstorm. The night Mr. Bowman was killed in a hit-and-run.” Nobody says anything for a second, and I tap the paper Mia is holding. “Front of vehicle damage due to unknown impact?”

— Karen M. McManus

118. “Are you guys even real?”

— Karen M. McManus

119. “I used to think about that, sometimes, when I wondered what parts of her might still be alive.”

— Karen M. McManus

120. “That’s very toxic behavior,” Charlotte says, and I snort out a laugh. “If you ever meet my mother, Charlotte, you’ll realize what an understatement that is.”

— Karen M. McManus

121. “Your brother saved you.”

— Karen M. McManus

122. “Everybody’s got secrets.”

— Karen M. McManus

123. “Anders turned, his eyes glittering in the moonlight. “Taking care of a problem.”

— Karen M. McManus

124. “If I ever actively chose somebody instead of just letting myself get pulled into whatever orbit will have me.”

— Karen M. McManus

125. “Of all the things money can buy you, having every single meal look and taste this good without lifting a finger has to be one of the best.”

— Karen M. McManus

126. “Now, now.” She sits across from me with her toast and offers me a slice, but I push it back toward her. “Give it time. Do you remember what I told you in the hospital?” I shake my head. “Things’ll get worse before they get better. Well, they surely did get worse, and now there’s nowhere to go but up.” She takes a bite and I keep spinning the quarter until she swallows. “You should bring that boy of yours by sometime for dinner, Cooper. It’s about time we met him.”

— Karen M. McManus

127. “Marriage is way harder than anyone tells you.”

— Karen M. McManus

128. “Wade claps his hands together, kind of like I just did. “So what’s the deal? You’re making a little garden for a dead guy and Google’s not your friend? It’s too much work for a couple of rich kids, so why not waste Wade’s time?” “Wow.” Brynn blinks a couple of times before turning back to me. “I didn’t think I’d have to admit this within the first thirty seconds of this meeting, but – you were right, Tripp.”

— Karen M. McManus

129. “She’d never guess my sweet-faced sister just committed identity theft against her six-year-old.”

— Karen M. McManus

130. “I hope so,” I say, chewing the inside of my cheek. “Ceramics class, my ass. That anonymous tip has to be about her. I never got anywhere near Boney.”

— Karen M. McManus

131. “She moves a little closer, brushing against my hip, and an electric charge runs through me.”

— Karen M. McManus

132. “It’s not nerdy to care about fonts!”

— Karen M. McManus

133. “If you could be anyhwere in five years, doing anything at all, what would you pick?”

— Karen M. McManus

134. “Chloe likes the happy hour game because, she says, high school boys are immature. Which is true. But sometimes I think we might be better off not knowing how much worse they can get.”

— Karen M. McManus

135. “And the way he made me laugh when i thought I‘d forgotten how.”

— Karen M. McManus

136. “He ran everything, and I let him.”

— Karen M. McManus

137. “Somehow, the fact that Nonny accepts my word without question makes me feel guilty.”

— Karen M. McManus

138. “Emma’s boyfriend pops into my head, and I can’t keep my eyes from widening reflexively. Phoebe bites her lip and looks away. “Although I realize I have zero credibility in that department at the moment, so I’ll let you get back to – whatever,” she says, pushing her chair away from the table.”

— Karen M. McManus

139. “Plus, my parents have great insurance, and savings, and all those other things Henry talks about when he’s trying to convince me that I should get a business degree alongside an art degree. You need a safety net, he always says.”

— Karen M. McManus

140. “This is such a disconcerting mode of communication. It’s weird trying to keep a conversation rolling without nonverbal cues or spell check.”

— Karen M. McManus