Sara Zarr Quotes

Powerful Sara Zarr for Daily Growth

About Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr (born November 14, 1975) is an acclaimed American young adult novelist known for her sensitive portrayals of adolescence and strong narrative voices. Born in San Francisco, California, she grew up in a family that encouraged reading and writing, laying the foundation for her future career. Zarr's interest in literature blossomed early, leading her to study English at San Diego State University. Her writing journey began with short stories, some of which were published in various literary magazines. However, it was her debut novel, "Story of a Girl" (2007), that catapulted her into the limelight. The novel, centering around a teenage girl's struggle with the consequences of a sexual experience, received widespread acclaim and multiple awards, including the California Book Award and the Sydney Taylor Book Award. In 2009, Zarr released "How to Save a Life," another powerful YA novel that explores themes of friendship, family, and self-discovery. The book was also critically praised and won the ALA Michael L. Printz Award. Zarr's third novel, "Once Was Lost" (2011), delves into the life of a troubled girl who finds solace in her Christian faith. This novel, too, received numerous accolades, including the prestigious National Book Award finalist nomination. In addition to her novels, Zarr has also written several short stories and contributed to various anthologies. She continues to write and resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she enjoys spending time with her family. Her work is characterized by its honesty, empathy, and ability to capture the complexities of adolescence, making her a beloved author among young adults and readers alike.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"We live inside stories, and we give life to them."

This quote emphasizes that human existence is deeply intertwined with narratives. We don't just passively experience life; rather, we actively create and shape our experiences through the stories we tell ourselves about them. The choices we make, the paths we take, and even the way we perceive the world are influenced by the stories we choose to live by. Essentially, Sara Zarr suggests that as storytellers, we not only inhabit stories but also animate them, infusing life with meaning through our personal narratives.


"I've learned that love is a choice, something you do, not just something you feel."

This quote emphasizes that love, while often associated with feelings, is also an active commitment and action. It suggests that love is more than just a fleeting emotion; it involves conscious decisions to care for, support, and act in the best interest of another person. In other words, love is not merely a state of being, but a series of actions that one chooses to undertake in the name of compassion, understanding, and devotion towards someone else.


"Sometimes things are hardest when they matter most, but if what matters most also matters the most to us, then maybe it's worth it after all."

This quote suggests that while some challenges may be most intense when dealing with what is of greatest importance to us, their difficulty should not discourage us from pursuing them. If the things that matter the most to us are truly valuable, then persevering through hardships might ultimately prove worthwhile. It encourages resilience and determination in the face of adversity when striving for what truly matters in our lives.


"Life has a way of being unpredictable, and often our hopes and dreams get shaken up a little, or a lot."

This quote by Sara Zarr emphasizes the inherent unpredictability of life, highlighting that our aspirations and expectations can be disrupted due to the unexpected events life may present. The message encourages resilience in facing such challenges, suggesting that while change is inevitable, it's essential to adapt and navigate through those turbulent times.


"The most important things aren't always easy to see. You can only find them if you're willing to look in the hard places."

This quote by Sara Zarr suggests that significant, valuable truths or insights often reside in challenging, difficult-to-access areas of life. It encourages us to persist and be tenacious in our search for meaning, even when it requires effort, introspection, and a willingness to confront complexities and hardships. In essence, the quote reminds us that true understanding and growth can only come from a readiness to look beyond superficiality and delve into the 'hard places' of our experiences and ourselves.


When a young reader tells you that they'd never finished a book outside of school until they read yours, or that they really needed to hear something that one of your characters says or thinks... that's just rewarding and humbling.

- Sara Zarr

Young, Rewarding, Reader, Humbling

We write in ways that, we generally hope, reflect real life, or at least look familiar to humans. And in life, recurring themes are a recurring theme. We never quite conquer a pet vice or a relationship pattern or a communication habit. We're haunted by our particular demons.

- Sara Zarr

Hope, Pattern, Least, Haunted

When the reader and one narrator know something the other narrator does not, the opportunities for suspense and plot development and the shifting of reader sympathies get really interesting.

- Sara Zarr

Development, Other, Reader, Narrator

I tend to describe recurring themes as being part of a writer's DNA - something so deeply embedded in us that even we don't notice it until we've written three or four books.

- Sara Zarr

Three, Part, Being, Recurring

Is it good, bad, or neutral to recognize thematic patterns in your own work? When it comes to recurring themes, I'm of the mind that knowledge is probably not power, at least in terms of the work.

- Sara Zarr

Work, Mind, Bad, Recurring

My parents met in music school and my father was a music professor and conductor. Growing up, we always had classical and contemporary music playing. There was a lot of Mozart and the Beatles.

- Sara Zarr

Father, Always, Classical, Mozart

Making lists of favorite things is, for me, a task ridden with anxiety. What if I've accidentally excluded something I love? What if I discover something new tomorrow that I love even more?

- Sara Zarr

Love, New, Discover, Favorite Things

My books have been translated into various languages and sold in other countries, but I never have any contact with the foreign publishers and am so disconnected from that process that it seems almost imaginary. With 'How to Save a Life', I worked closely with Usborne editors and have been involved in the publicity.

- Sara Zarr

Other, Been, Almost, Disconnected

I wouldn't say I'm stuck in my adolescence, but I think, like a lot of people, I carry my teen years with me. I feel really in touch with those feelings, and how intense and complicated life seems in those years.

- Sara Zarr

Feel, Years, I Think, Teen Years

My parents met in music school, and my father was a music professor and conductor. Growing up, we always had classical and contemporary music playing.

- Sara Zarr

Father, Always, Classical, Conductor

I'm always in a place that is sincere but conflicted about different things that come with being a Christian and being an active, churchgoing Christian.

- Sara Zarr

Always, Active, About, Different Things

Family or love or romance, whatever it is, is not restricted to perfect people. If it were, it wouldn't exist. All of that comes out in my work in some way.

- Sara Zarr

Love, Some, Romance, Restricted

One of my favorite authors is Robert Cormier. He was a devout Catholic and a very nice man, which might not be the impression you get from reading his books.

- Sara Zarr

Might, Very, Which, Authors

It's hard to say when my interest in writing began, or how. My mother read to my sister and me every night, and we always loved playing make-believe games. I had a well-primed imagination. I didn't start thinking about writing as a serious pursuit, a career I could have, until after college.

- Sara Zarr

College, Career, Pursuit, Every Night

I'm not really a plot writer - I'm more interested in the characters and sort of small events that propel the story forward.

- Sara Zarr

Small, Forward, More, Propel

I have no desire to go back to San Francisco.

- Sara Zarr

San Francisco, Francisco, No Desire

I don't want to pretend like I'm some intellectual person who understands Flannery O'Connor.

- Sara Zarr

Want, Some, Like, Understands

My first job is to write the characters as full and authentic people as well as I can.

- Sara Zarr

Authentic, Well, Characters, First Job

I didn't 'decide' to write YA, per se. But every time I thought of a story, it featured characters 15, 16, 17.

- Sara Zarr

Thought, Featured, Ya, Per

Readers want a story, not a pattern. It's the specifics of a story that make it really ping our various reader radars.

- Sara Zarr

Want, Pattern, Reader, Readers

There were about ten years of trying, failing, trying again, suffering rejection, etc. My first published book, 'Story of a Girl', was the fourth book I wrote.

- Sara Zarr

Book, Suffering, Again, Fourth

My first published book, 'Story of a Girl', was the fourth book I wrote.

- Sara Zarr

Book, Wrote, Published, Fourth

I played the clarinet, and my sister played the violin... If we'd had the discipline and the passion, maybe we could have been good.

- Sara Zarr

Violin, Been, Maybe, Sister

I grew up in San Francisco in the 1970s. We were part of a church that belonged to the California Jesus movement.

- Sara Zarr

Part, Francisco, San, Belonged

I wanted to be free to write the way I wanted to write, and my impression of Christian publishing, at least in fiction, was that there wasn't room for what I wanted to write.

- Sara Zarr

Way, Fiction, Least, Publishing

My books usually end where they began. I try to bring characters back to a point that is familiar but different because of the growth that they have gone through.

- Sara Zarr

Through, Bring, Began, Familiar

When my characters are questioning things, it's not me leading up to an answer; it's me asking those same questions and letting the characters' lives unfold and seeing where it takes them.

- Sara Zarr

Asking, Leading, Lives, Questioning

I was a 'learn by doing' writer - I never took any formal writing classes. So it took a long time to figure things out and find my voice.

- Sara Zarr

Voice, Doing, Took, Formal

The characters are whole, real people to me that I'm getting to know, and since real people are all flawed, so are my characters, I hope.

- Sara Zarr

Real, Real People, Whole, Flawed

I'm so focused on trying to craft the story that I'm in my own little world with it and that process. The one reader I'm trying to please as I write is me, and I'm pretty difficult to please.

- Sara Zarr

Process, Pretty, I Write, Craft

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