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Tonya Hurley

Tonya Hurley is a New York Times and international bestselling author of the ghostgirl series (Little, Brown) and The Blessed trilogy (Simon & Schuster). Her books are published in nearly 30 countries and in more than 20 languages. Ms. Hurley has a worked in virtually every aspect of teen entertainment: creating, writing, and producing two hit TV series; writing and directing several acclaimed independent films, music videos and videogames. She is a contributor to the Huffington Post, an active member of the Writer's Guild of America, a member of the Horror Writers Association Her first novel, ghostgirl was an instant bestseller and received starred reviews from the literary publications Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, VOYA and School Library Journal. The ghostgirl audiobooks are narrated by Parker Posey with original music by Vince Clarke. PRECIOUS BLOOD, the first book in her new, gritty young adult THE BLESSED Trilogy was released September 25, 2012. PASSIONARIES, the second book, was released January 7, 2014. The Blessed audiobook is read by Moonrise Kingdom star Kara Hayward.

Praise for "ghostgirl":

Instant New York Times bestseller.

Instant International bestseller.

"Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe devotees will die for this fantastic, phantasmal read."

– School Library Journal (STARRED review)

"[Hurley] beats out witty teen-speak like a punk-band drummer, keeping the narrative fast-paced and fun yet thought-provokingly heartwarming. Goofy, ghastly, intelligent, electrifying."

– Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review)

"Readers with a taste for black humor and satire will feast on Hurley’s crisp, wise dialogue. Anticipate a well deserved cult following."

– VOYA (STARRED review)

"Glittering comedy, a prime exemplar of what might be called demento mori, a growing subgenre of satire about teens who will not or cannot die."

– Publishers Weekly (STARRED review)

"Harry Potter's epic battles against dark forces of evil are nothing compared to Charlotte Usher's struggles with an even more fearsome foe -- high school."

– Herald-Standard

"Offers the answer to the age old question: Who would come to my funeral? And gives fantasy fulfillment for anyone who wanted to be someone else for a day."

– San Francisco Chronicle

"Written with deadpan wit… this is a ‘Wonderful Life’-like tale."

– New York Post

"A sincere (and humorous) exploration of how we all feel invisible at one time or another… a perfect read."

– CosmoGirl

Indie Next List pick

New York Public Library Stuff For The Teenage pick

Pennsylvania Library School Assocation Award Outstanding Author for 2012


“The only reason to live is to love and the only reason to love is to live.”
Tonya Hurley
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“I never understood why you tried so hard to fit in, when you were obviously meant to stand out.”
Tonya Hurley
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“You never think it will happen to you. You think about what it would be like. You go through it over and over in your mind, changing the scenario slightly each time, but deep down, you don't really believe it would ever happen, because it's something that happens to someone else, not to you.”
Tonya Hurley
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“Someone can have the best intentions,' Markov said, 'but offering the wrong advice, the wrong help at the wrong time, can be worse than not helping at all.”
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“A true friend is someone who is always there for you, with no agenda other than the friendship itself. We rely on our friends to lift us up in bad times, to keep us grounded in good times, but most importantly, to be there for us when we need nothing at all.”
Tonya Hurley
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“We are often so distracted by the internal war between what we want to do and what we have to do that we overlook what we need to do.”
Tonya Hurley
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“We don't miss what we never had, but we miss terribly things we almost had. And we miss things we used to have most of all. Through we hope and pray for our relationships, our looks, and our lives to improve, having more also means having more to lose.”
Tonya Hurley
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“The success or failure of any relationship depends not just on how we feel about each other, but on how we make each other feel about ourselves.”
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“The truth is, those people we feel drawn to most might not be intended as love interests, but rather as life-changing, life-altering presences that come into our lives for reasons we can't yet understand.”
Tonya Hurley
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“Breaking free, or not, is usually determined by whether you want to get somewhere slowly or nowhere fast.”
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“It's not the time we spend but how we spend the time that truly tells our story.”
Tonya Hurley
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“If you want sympathy, look for a friend, but if you want honesty, an enemy might be the best friend you ever had.”
Tonya Hurley
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“I always find that I'm at my best,' Eric said leadingly, 'when I'm at my worst.”
Tonya Hurley
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“We have the whole concept of popularity backward. We imagine it as a small and exclusive club of people we idolize or envy. But most popular people are hated by the majority. So, if you are despised by everyone outside your little clique, and liked only by those inside it, you are vastly unpopular by any objective measure. The key to ultimate popularity is not to be loved or envied by as many people as possible but to be loved or envied by the right people.”
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“We all have ideas about love and death. We keep a close eye out for them our entire lives, seeking one and avoiding the other, knowing all the while that both are mostly beyond our control. It is a both scary and exciting predicament. In the end, it all depends on how you look at it. One thing is for sure; it is never quite what you expect.”
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“Nuncan resultan ser lo que uno esperaba.”
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“Some people live their lives as if each day will be their last. Some approach love the same way, in a desperate attempt to outrun the tiny changesor huge ones that are always looming on each of our horizons. But the sense of urgency that comes from wanting to experience life and love to thefullest can force decisions that are not always in your best interests or anyone else's, for that matter. In fact, sometimes facing the consequences ofyour choices can be even worse than death. You may live only once, but you don't necessarily want it to feel like forever.”
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“La gente espera de ti que te comportes de un modo determinado, que luzcas un aspecto determinado, que pienses de una forma determinada. De otro modo se niegan a aceptarte.”
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“And though the symptons of lovesickness may be many, they all share a single cause and single cure: you.”
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“Sometimes it's the things that are all around us that are hardest to see, especially love.”
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“It was like death by a thousand paper cuts.”
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“She was a dead girl having the worst panic attack shed ever had. Not because she was afraid of dying, but because she knew that she would never live again.”
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“Sometimes divulging your vulnerabilities without any kind of filter can make you more human, but then again, it can also provide material that can be used against you.”
Tonya Hurley
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“Talk is cheap. If it wasn't, people might not toss around "I love you" like amarked-down phrase in a sale bin.”
Tonya Hurley
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“You can only get outside yourself by looking inside.”
Tonya Hurley
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“Regret; The saddest word in the English language.”
Tonya Hurley
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“I see uncool people!”
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“people can die , dreams cant”
Tonya Hurley
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“I love you, but i'm not fall in love with you”
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“Penyesalan. Kata paling sedih dalam bahasa manusia.”
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“Merelakan sesuatu, bagi siapa pun, bisa menjadi hal terberat untuk dilakukan.”
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“Issues are like assholes, we've all got one," Pam snipped.”
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“If you expect nothing, you can never be disappointed.Apart from a few starry-eyed poets or monks living on a mountaintop somewhere, however, we all have expectations. We not only have them, we need them. They fuel our dreams, our hopes, and our lives like some super-caffeinated energy drink.”
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“Worry may not change the outcome, but it definately affects the outlook.”
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“Life sucks, then you die. Then it sucks again. ”
Tonya Hurley
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“You did what your heart told you to do,' Brain complimented. 'It is what leaders, not followers, do.”
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“We all like to think the world ends when we do. The truth is our acquaintances, our friends, and our loved ones all live on, and through them, so do we. It's not about what you had, but what you gave. It's not about how you looked, but how you lived. And it's not just about being remembered. It's about giving people a good reason to remember you.”
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“You can't have it both ways. Love is too powerful to hide for very long. Deny it and suffer the consequences. Acknowledge it and suffer the consequences. Revealing it can either be shameful or it can be liberating. It is for others to decide which it will be.”
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“Being in love with someone who doesn't even know you exist isn't the worst thing in the world. In fact, it's quite the oppostie. Almost like passing in a term paper that you know sucked, but having that period of time where you haven't gotten your grade back yet -- that kind of exhale where you haven't been rejected, although you pretty much know how it's going to turn out.”
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“We all want to be stars. The idea of being revered and envied must be encoded somewhere deep in our DNA. So must the desire to revere and envy others we imagine to be better, more accepted, and more popular than we are. The only problem is that the most necessary qualities required to be a celebrity -- self-absorption, egomania, shamelessness -- are the least attractive in a friend.”
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“Now I lay me down to sleep,I pray the Lord my soul to keep.And if I should die before I awake,I pray the popular attend my wake.”
Tonya Hurley
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