“I realize that some naiive sliver of me hoped that he was better than this. Not good, necessarily. Just not evil.” — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
My mother and father were born and raised in Pakistan, where religion is entrenched in the culture and the culture is explicitly… — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
Whatever the case, oftentimes, for a story to feel complete to me, I need more than one point of view. — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
I felt like an outcast and turned to books, fantasy in particular, to find a place for myself. Reading took me away… — Sabaa Tahir Books Copy Share Image
As a teenager, I felt so hemmed in and trapped, both by the place I lived and the expectations others had about… — Sabaa Tahir Expectations Copy Share Image
What is a nightstand without Mindy Kaling? I dip into her 'Why Not Me?' when I've had a particularly rough day. Her… — Sabaa Tahir Anecdotes Copy Share Image
If I refused to get married, my parents would be brokenhearted and confused. Like any child close to her parents, I could… — Sabaa Tahir Children Copy Share Image
Even as a little kid, I told lots of stories, and I wrote them down, and I loved reading fiction and fantasy. — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
In fantasy and science fiction, world-building is an essential part of the story. But as a reader, I don't just want descriptions… — Sabaa Tahir Eyes Copy Share Image
“After we left Serra,” Keenan says, “we’d been walking—running, really, for hours. When we finally stopped and settled into our rolls for… — Sabaa Tahir Astronomy Copy Share Image
'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' is one of my all-time top YA fantasy trilogies, so I was a little nervous about reading… — Sabaa Tahir Daughter Copy Share Image
“I look up at the stars hanging low in a sky that makes me think I'm seeing the infinite. But beneath their… — Sabaa Tahir Astronomy Copy Share Image
For a while, gently bumping into my nightstand meant a pile of 50 books clattering onto my head and the floor. After… — Sabaa Tahir Books Copy Share Image
“Speaking to him would mean learning about him. Understanding him. Maybe befriending him. I know what it is to travel with someone,… — Sabaa Tahir Befriending Copy Share Image
The way I felt growing up, which was like an outcast - I was weird, I was a nerd, I read fantasy… — Sabaa Tahir Book readers Copy Share Image
Reading about people who were so truly voiceless and powerless - Liberian child soldiers, Sudanese refugees, and, especially, Kashmiri women whose husbands… — Sabaa Tahir Army Copy Share Image
Like me as a teen - and like many teenagers now - my characters are at a peculiar crossroads in their lives.… — Sabaa Tahir Crossroads Copy Share Image
“There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to… — Sabaa Tahir Guilt Copy Share Image
“Pop used to say that standing by someone during their darkest times creates a bond. A sense of obligation that is less… — Sabaa Tahir Darkest times Copy Share Image
You pour your soul into your book, but you never know how it will be received, and when people like your baby,… — Sabaa Tahir Book Copy Share Image
At age 10, or even 15, it would have meant the world to me to see a Pakistani girl portrayed positively, let… — Sabaa Tahir Age Copy Share Image
When I asked myself what I'd want to see in a comic about a Pakistani superhero, the first word that came to… — Sabaa Tahir Comic Copy Share Image
“Don’t lock yourself away from those who care about you because you think you’ll hurt them or—or they’ll hurt you. What point… — Sabaa Tahir Care Copy Share Image
“makes me wonder how many times I walked right past someone in these streets who was running, someone who had just had… — Sabaa Tahir Time Copy Share Image
“Failure doesn't define you. It's what you do after you fail that determines whether you are a leader or a waste of… — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
I like to write when things are calm - and when I'm not worried about my well-being, the well-being of those I… — Sabaa Tahir Calm Copy Share Image
“Most people...are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But you...are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the… — Sabaa Tahir Darkness Copy Share Image
I was 5 when I got the speech about how I would have to work harder and longer than everyone else because… — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
As a kid living in an isolated desert town, the most diversity I saw in my media was Claudia Kishi, the Japanese… — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
I grew up in a small town in the Mojave Desert where conservative Republicans were as common as cacti. Inexplicably, I grew… — Sabaa Tahir Conservative Copy Share Image
I wanted to write something that reflected the violence and horror of the world, but I also wanted to reflect the way… — Sabaa Tahir Fight Copy Share Image
“Shrike.” He leans close, his distress evident. “She’s penned a play,” he says. “I can feel it. Don’t act the part she’s… — Sabaa Tahir Encouraging Copy Share Image
My dad was very strict. He was absolutely the Tiger Dad. You know, 'You got a 98% on this test? Why didn't… — Sabaa Tahir Dad Copy Share Image
Honesty and truth in writing is so important, and I think that YA writing above all is honest, and I think that… — Sabaa Tahir Age Copy Share Image
How far do you go in following orders? So many people use it as an excuse, right? 'I was following orders.' But… — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
'The Sword of Shannara' is about two brothers who find themselves on an epic quest to save humanity. It borrows from 'Lord… — Sabaa Tahir Adventure Copy Share Image
Great novels have great characterization no matter what. But multiple points of view let me examine characters from entirely different perspectives, allowing… — Sabaa Tahir Books Copy Share Image
I don't go on social media with a mercenary intent to promote. That's just wrong. I go to learn, to listen, to… — Sabaa Tahir Fun Copy Share Image
I grew up feeling voiceless and powerless as a kid. I turned to books - fantasy books in particular - to give… — Sabaa Tahir Books Copy Share Image
“The voice is deep and soft, not a sound so much as a feeling. It is storm and wind and leaves twisting… — Sabaa Tahir Copy Share Image
