It's such a thrill when an adult comes up to me and says, 'I read your book as a child and really loved it.' That's a tremendous compliment.
Katherine PatersonRead
If you're a kid who is always on the outside hoping to be on the inside, you're watching a lot. You're trying to figure out how to become a normal person in a society that considers you weird.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the struggle of feeling alienated and the desire to fit into a society that seems to reject individuality.
Katherine Paterson's quote sheds light on the emotional experience of children who feel marginalized or different from their peers. It encapsulates the journey of trying to understand societal norms and the yearning for acceptance while grappling with the discomfort of being perceived as 'weird' or 'outside'. This reflection resonates deeply with many who navigate the complexities of growing up and seeking belonging.
Themes
BelongingAcceptanceIndividualityChildhoodSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about childhood experiences, this quote could be used to highlight the challenges of fitting in.
More from Katherine Paterson
All quotes →She had tricked him. She had made him leave his old self behind and come into her world, and then before he was really at home in it but too late to go back, she had left him stranded there--like an astronaut wandering about on the moon. Alone.
Katherine PatersonRead
Children have to have access to books, and a lot of children can't go to a store and buy a book. We need not only our public libraries to be funded properly and staffed properly, but our school libraries. Many children can't get to a public library, and the only library they have is a school library.
Katherine PatersonRead
We are trying to communicate that which lies in our deepest heart, which has no words, which can only be hinted at through the means of a story. And somehow, miraculously, a story that comes from deep in my heart calls from a reader that which is deepest in his or her heart, and together from our secret hidden selves we create a story that neither of us could have told alone.
Katherine PatersonRead
The challenge for those of us who care about our faith and about a hurting world is to tell stories which will carry the words of grace and hope in their bones and sinews and not wear them like fancy dress.
Katherine PatersonRead
The best thing about being a writer is it gives you readers who understand your deepest feelings and fears.
Katherine PatersonRead
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