19 Quotes by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

A fog of despair so pervaded the ghetto that the smallest gesture of rebellion could seem like a bold, piercing light. Bad, said with a fond expression, was almost always a compliment.

There are books that change the way you feel and see; this is one of them.

Kate Boo's reporting is a form of kinship. Abdul and Manju and Kalu of Annawadi will not be forgotten. She leads us through their unknown world, her gift of language rising up like a delicate string of necessary lights. There are books that change the way you feel and see; this is one of them. If we receive the fiery spirit from which it was written, it ought to change much more than that.

Love was the most interesting place to go, and beauty was the ticket.

What one reads in the newspaper and what one sees on the street are absolutely not the same.

Satisfaction isn't a state that comes easily to me.

My dad taught me that language was a powerful tool.

My earnestness at the injustices I witnessed when I was writing 'Random Family' may have been my gravest reportorial offense during the early years of reporting. When I discuss the book with students, they often ask me how I could 'stand by' in the face of so much suffering; the egregiousness wasn't my powerlessness but my surprise.

I like to say, 'You get as much story as you can take.' But you have to effectively render it.