Hi friends,

Today in Top 5 Tuesday hosted by Shanah @bionicbookwrom we are talking opening lines.

I think opening lines are what can make or break a book to me. They set the tone. They give me an inkling of the author’s talent and how he or she conveys her thoughts with the reader.

Will this story rather be telling versus showing?

Will it be funny? Or very sad? Original maybe?

So today, I cracked my favorite books open and searched a long time to give you all my favorites! I will try to give you what this quote made me feel and think in few words.

Let’s begin.

“Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barreled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.

 

This is the story of how we got there.”

Beartown by Fredrik Backman = Incredibly effective

“24 March 1944

 

Angelo must have slept in the damp grass of the road for a while, but the evening was cold and his cassock was thin, and he awoke, shivering. Even that small movement made him moan, but at least the sharp pain along his right side revived him. It was dark, and his mouth was so dry he licked the dew from the grass near his face. He had to move in order to get warm, and he had to move to find water. He had to move to find Eva.”

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon = tragic intense love story

“1969

Marsh is not swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass in water, and water flows into the sky. Slow-moving creek wander, carrying the orb of the sun with them to the sea, and long-legged birds lift with unexpected grace -as though not built to fly -against the roar of a thousand snow geese.”

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens = intensely poetic, hypnotic beauty.

“March 1975

My mother always started the story by saying, “Well, she was born in the backseat of a stranger’s car,” as though that explained why Wavy wasn’t normal. It seemed to me that could happen to anybody. Maybe on the way to the hosiptal, your parent’s respectable, middle-class car broke down. That was not what happened to Wavy. She was born in the backseat of a stranger’s car, because Uncle Liam and Aunt Val were homeless, driving through Texas when their old beat-up van broke down. Nine months pregnant, Aunt Val hitchhiked to the next town for help. If you ever consider playing Good Samaritan to a pregnant woman, think about cleaning that up.”

All the Ugly and Wonderful THings by Bryn Greenwood = my thoughts : “Jesus! What’s that book?”

“You saw me before I saw you. In the airport, that day in August, you had that look in your eyes, as though you wanted something from me, as though you’d wanted it for a long time”

Stolen by Lucy Christopher = haunting.

“I know you hate surprises, Stella. In the interest of communicating our expectations and providing you a reasonable timeline, you should know we’re ready for grandchildren.”

Stella Lane’s gaze jumped from her breakfast up to her mother’s gracefully gaing face. A subtle application of makeup drew attention to battle-ready, coffee-colored eyes. That boded ill for Stella. When her mother got something into her mind, she was like a honey badger with a vendetta -pugnacious and tenacious, but without the snarling and fur.

The Kiss Quotient by helen Hoang = Oooh I am in for a treat and a good laugh!

“It would not be a welcome dawn.

Already the sky told this story, with its sad halo of silver beckoning from beyond the horizon.

A Young man stood alongside his father on the rooftop terrace of the marble palace. They watched the pale light of the early morning sun push back the darkness with slow, careful deliberation.”

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh = beautiful and foreboding

“Nine Years Earlier

 

It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.

Even under the brightest sun, the frigid autumn sea is all the colours of the night: dark blue and black and brown. I watch the ever-changing patterns in the sand as it’s pummelled by countless hooves.”

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater = poetic, magic, tragic.

Now do tell me: what did these lines made you feel and think? Any other favorites you’d like to leave below?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie