The Best First Lines of a Book
You can find some books in Destiny and some books at the Hennepin County Library..
Lupe Wong Won’t Dance
“My gym shorts burrow into my butt crack like a frightened groundhog. Don’t you want to read a book that starts like that??”
The 5th Wave
“Aliens are stupid. I’m not talking about real aliens. The Others aren’t stupid. The Others are so far ahead of us, it’s like comparing the dumbest human to the smartest dog. No contest. No. I’m talking about the aliens inside our own heads.”
By Rick Yancey
The Paperboy
“I’m typing about the stabbing for a good reason. I can’t talk.”
By Vince Vawter
Ender’s Game
“I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one.”
By Orson Scott Card
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.”
By Rick Riordan
Donuthead
“My name, if you must know, is Franklin Delano Donuthead. Try saying that in a room full of 5th graders if you think names can never hurt you.”
By Sue Stauffacher
The Graveyard Book
"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."
By Neil Gaiman
Holes
“There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.”
By Louis Sachar
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
“First of all, let me get something straight: this is a journal, not a diary.”
By Jeff Kinney
A Wrinkle in Time
“It was a dark and stormy night.”
by Madeleine L’Engle
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
“Not every 13-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty.”
By Avi
The False Prince
“If I had to do it all over again, I would not have chosen this life. Then again, I’m not sure I ever had a choice.”
By Jennifer A. Nielsen
Nimona
“What! Who are you? How did you get in here?”
“Hey, Boss. The name’s Nimona. Oh…huh…nice arm”
By Noelle Stevenson
The Outsiders
"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home."
By S. E. Hinton
Left Turn at the Cow
"There were so many dead bodies stuffed into Gram's freezer chest that it was kind of like wandering through a cryonics lab."
By Lisa Bullard
Luck Uglies
"Rye and her two friends had never intended to steal the banned book from the Angry Poet--they'd just hoped to read it."
By Paul Durham
Ollie and the Science of Treasure Hunting
"'Stay out of trouble.' Kids hear that all the time, and most of the time, we barely pay attention. But when an FBI agent says it, and it's the fourth time in two weeks that you've been to the federal building in Boston? You listen." By Erin Dionne
Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere
"I was on my tippy-toes, bouncing up and down on the first step of the bus, stuck behind my second cousin, Danisha, and her melon-sized butt."
By Julie T. Lamana
Timmy Failure: Now Look What You’ve Done
"Of all the items that can clog your plumbing, an overweight Arctic mammal is probably the worst."
by Stephan Pastis
The Dark Wild
"In the shadow of our apple tree, looking out across a river at a city full of glass and whispers, I take my dad's hand and watch our enemy fly toward us."
by Piers Torday
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
“This book just might change your life.”
By Michael Pollan
Elena Vanishing: A Memoir
“I wake up in a panic, and acid churns in my stomach. A nurse has walked into my hospital room.”
By Elena Dunkle
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
My hand reached for the dial on the radio. ¨Alone¨ was playing. Crap, ¨Alone¨ a song by a group called Heart. Not my favorite song. Not my favorite group. Not my favorite topic. ¨You don’t know how long...¨ I was fifteen. I was bored. I was miserable. By Benjamin Alire Saenz
Added by VVMS student.
Reviews suggest Teen Readers.
Belly Up
“I’d just been busted for giving the chimpanzees water balloons when I first heard something was wrong at Hippo River.”
By Stuart Gibbs
Cinder
(The Lunar Chronicles)
“The screw through Cinder’s ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle.”
By Marissa Meyer
From Bad to Cursed
Bad Girls Don’t Die - Series
“At first glance, the townhouses in Silver Sage Acres are as white and identical as an endless row of bared teeth.”
By Katie Alender
Dragon Ball Z
“After the attack of yet another enemy, Earth was saved by the father and son hero team of Goku and Gohan.”
By Akira Toriyama
Scythe
“The scythe arrived late on a cold November afternoon. Citra was at the dining room table, slaving over a particularly difficult algebra problem, shuffling variables, unable to solve for X or Y, when this new and far more pernicious variable entered her life's equation.”
By Neal Shusterman
Hunger Games
“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth, but only finding the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did this on the day of the reaping.”
By Suzanne Collins
Kiki’s Delivery Service
“Thirteen-year-old half-witch Kiki travels to the town of Koriko where she makes new friends, overcomes challenges, and shares her magic with her community to make the world a brighter place.”
By Eiko Kadono
The Hobbit
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
By J. R. R. Tolkien
Moby Dick
“Call me Ishmael.”
By Herman Melville
Star Wars - Thrawn
“All beings begin their lives with hopes and aspirations. Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals. Seldom so. Perhaps never.”
By Timothy Zahn
Harry Potter The Prisoner of Azkaban
“Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways.”
By J. K. Rowling
Percy Jackson The Last Olympian
“Being a hero doesn't mean you're invincible. It just means that you're brave enough to stand up and do what's needed.”
ByRick Riordan
Tuesdays at the Castle
“When Castle Glower became bored, it would grow a new room or two.”
By Jessica Day George
Charlotte’s Web
“Where's Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.”
By E. B. White
Because of Winn Dixie
“My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.”
By Kate DiCamillo
Ouran High School Host Club
“I’m sorry Tamaki…”
By Bisco Hatori
Ghost Boys
“How small I look. Laid out flat, my stomach touching ground. My right knee bent and my brand-new Nike's stained with blood.”
By Jewell Parker Rhodes
Snow White
“What’s the story here? Who is she? White as snow…”
By Matt Phelan
Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus
“When I was thirteen years old my parents moved me from land of flat, grassy prairies and towering, angry tornados and life-giving cool country air to the mysterious land of suffocating dust and prickly cactus and life-sucking desert heat to lord over a park of western-themed amusements that bring delight to many young children and a handful of immature grown-ups. “
By Dusti Bowling
The Mighty Miss Malone
“Once upon a time . . .” If I could get away with it, that's how I'd begin every essay I write.
By Christopher Paul Curtis"
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
“First of all, let me get something straight: This is a JOURNAL, not a diary. “
By Jeff Kinney
Take Your Mark
Take Your Mark, BRRRRP! The buzzer sounds and the Minnesota State Championship for the 50 Yard Freestyle Begins.
By John Riggs
Keeper of the Lost Cities
“Blurry, fractured memories swam through Sophie's mind, but she couldn't piece them together. She tried opening her eyes and found only darkness. Something rough pressed against her wrists and ankles, refusing to let her move. A wave of cold rushed through her as the horrifying realization dawned. She was a hostage.”
by Shannon Messenger
Let the Sky Fall
“I'm lucky to be alive. At least, that's what everybody keeps telling me. The reporter from the local newspaper even had the nerve to call it a miracle. I was "Vane Weston: The Miracle Child." Like the police finding me unconscious in a pile of rubble was part of some great universal plan. "Family Survives Tornado" - now, that would have been a miracle. But trust me, there's nothing "miraculous" about being orphaned at seven years old.”
By Shannon Messenger
Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell
“The dungeon was a miserable place. Light was scarce and flickered from the torches bolted to the stone walls. Foul-smelling water dripped inside from the moat circling the palace walls. Large rats chased each other across the floor searching for food. This was no place for a queen.”
By Chris Colfer
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy
“A dragon was trying to hide in the storm. Lightning flickered across the dark clouds. Hvitur clutched his fragile cargo closer. If he could make it over the mountains, he'd be safe. He'd escaped the sky dragon's palace unseen. And the secret cave was so close... But his theft had not been as stealthy as he thought, and eyes as black as obsidian were already tracking him from below.”
By Tui T. Sutherland
One the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
The old stories tell that when the first person woke up on the first morning in the world where this tale takes place, he yawned, stretched, and said to the first thing he saw, "Well, here we are." The man's name was Dwayne, and the first thing he saw was a rock.
By Andrew Peterson
Book 1 of the Wingfeather Saga - Series
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
Yeah, I know. You guys are going to read about how I died in agony, and you're going be like, “Wow! That sounds cool, Magnus! Can I die in agony too?” No. Just no.
By Rick Riordan
Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard - series
The Hidden Oracle
My name is Apollo. I used to be a god. In my four thousand six hundred and twelve years, I have done many things. I inflicted a plague on the Greeks who besieged Troy. I blessed Babe Ruth with three home runs in game four of the 1926 World Series. I visited my wrath upon Britney Spears at the 2007 MTV Video Music awards. But in all my immortal life, I have never before crash-landed in a Dumpster.
By Rick Riordan
The Trials of Apollo - Series
Impostors
We’re about to die. Probably.
By Scott Westerfeld
Two covers, same book
Imposters Series: Book 1
A Tale of Magic
Magic was outlawed in all four kingdoms, and that was putting it lightly.
By Chris Colfer
Renegades
They were all villains in the beginning.
By Marissa Meyer
(series: Renegades)
Dragonslayer
It is nearly impossible to steal from a dragon.
By Tui T. Sutherland
Amelia Gray is Almost Okay
Today is my thirty-ninth last day of school.
By Jessica Brody