41 Inspiring Quotes From 'The 39 Clues

The allure of "The 39 Clues" series extends beyond its intriguing narratives and captivating mystery; it’s also a treasure trove of wisdom and inspiration. As we journey alongside Amy and Dan Cahill in their heart-pounding quest, we encounter a wealth of quotes that resonate with universal truths and timeless insights. Whether you’re a devoted fan of the books or new to their spellbinding universe, our curated collection of the top 41 inspiring quotes from "The 39 Clues" will ignite your imagination, challenge your perspectives, and perhaps even provide that spark of motivation you need today. Dive in and rediscover the magic that lies within the pages of this beloved adventure.

1. “Amy gritted her teeth. "King Louis XVI even put Franklin's picture on a chamber pot!"Jonah looked at his dad. "Do we have souvenir chamber pots?""No." His dad whipped out his phone. "I'll make the call.” - Rick Riordan

2. “Sugar maple!" Mary-Todd Holt knelt over her husband. "Are you all right?"Eisenhower sat up, and egg-size lump blooming on his crown. "Of course I'm all right!" he managed, his words slurred. "You think a little insect can stop me?"Reagan was unconvinced. "I don't know, Dad. She brained you with a baseball bat!""Hockey stick," Dan corrected."Those could be your last words, brat–” - Gordon Korman

3. “Nobody got me out," Nellie replied. "They just let me go. They think I'm a deranged Jonah Wizard fan. Apparently, the hotel's full of them. A couple of idiots actually jumped off the front balcony. Can you picture that?""In Technicolor," Amy said bitterly."That low-down KGB reject!" Dan fumed. "I can't believe she cheated me–right when I was in the middle of cheating her!” - Gordon Korman

4. “Nellie grinned. "I always wanted to go to Venice. It's supposed to be the romance capital of the world.""Sweet," put in Dan. "Too bad your date is an Egyptian Mau on a hunger strike."The au pair sighed. "Better than an eleven-year-old with a big mouth.” - Gordon Korman

5. “Okay, listen up, dudes. We have to book. Yesterday, when I find you guys are, like, AWOL? I, like, freak. Yelling at everybody–where are they, why did you let them leave–the hotel people are, like, whaaaa? Anyway, I pack up all your stuff, figuring I may never see the place again, and down in the lobby I find my man Arif. I'm, like, help me, and he takes all of our stuff to this launch–and then we're halfway across the sea when Arif gets this radio message, and he's all excited, but I don't know what he's saying until he's, like, 'POLICE!' in English. And we see these cop cars and somebody's getting a big old boat, so we're, like, sayonara, only in Indonesian, and we tool out into this boat-traffic jam to try to loose them, and I'm hearing these radio reports that are half English–there's been a fire and somebody's dead, yada yada, and I'm totally wigging out–Why did you do that? Why did you and your sister leave me in a hotel without even a note?” - Peter Lerangis

6. “"Whoaaaaa–AARRRGGGGGGGHHHH...shove two fingers down my throat and pull out my heart...to prove that you love meeee...!" Clutching her iPod, Nellie emerged from the hatch ad lurched towards them, like creature put together from spare parts–a motion that Dan and Amy recognized as dancing. Pulling out her earbuds, she raised her face to the sky and let the rain pelt her for a few seconds. "Whoo-hoo, that is better than a facial!" she cried, running to join Dan and Amy under the overhang."Stick around," Dan said, "for a lava treatment.” - Peter Lerangis

7. “Just then a word floated out through the buzz saw of Zapata-speak: Nefertari. Dan tuned back in."...the most beautiful tomb in Egypt," Ms. Zapata was saying. "You probably know the queen because there's a famous bust of her."A photo flashed on the screen.Dan raised his hand. "That's Nefertiti," he said. "Different queen."Ms. Zapata frowned. She looked at her notes. "You could be right, Dan. Uh...let's move on."Another slide flashed on-screen. "Now, this is the inner chamber of the tomb, where she was laid to rest."Dan's hand rose again. Ms. Zapata closed her eyes."Actually? That's the side chamber.""Really." Ms. Zapata's lips pressed together. "And how do you know this, Dan?""Because..." Dan hesitated. Because I was there. Because I was locked inside the tomb with an ex-KGB spy, so I got to know it pretty well."Especially since the tomb is closed for conservation," Ms. Zapata said.Yeah. But we had this connection to an Egyptologist? Except he turned out to be a thief and a liar, so we captured him. I came this close to smashing him with a lamp...” - Jude Watson

8. “Just then he noticed that Amy had that look, as though she wanted the street to buckle and split so she could fall right in. Dan saw the cool crowd from her school hanging at a table in the front. So that was why she didn't want to go in. Evan Tolliver was at the head of the table. Dan sighed. Even, the human supercomputer, was Amy's dream crush. Whenever Evan was near, she got her stutter back. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't notice Luke Skywalker," Dan said. "Or is it Darth Vader?" "Shhh," Amy said. Her cheeks were red. "He's coming." "You mean Evan Tolliver himself is about to set his foot on the sidewalk? Did you bring the rose petals?" "Cut it out, dweeb!" Amy said fiercely. "Hi, Amy," Evan said from behind her. Amy's color went from summer rose to summer tomato. She shot Dan a look that told him he was in serious trouble. "Hey, Evan," he said. "I'm Amy's little brother, Dweeb. Nice to meet you, man.” - Jude Watson

9. “I'll sue!" Ian sputtered. "I'll sue you AND the dog. And the country of South Korea. And...and...""The landscape architect?" Natalie asked."The landscape architect!" Ian shouted.” - Peter Lerangis

10. “You guys are related to Jonah Wizard?" Jake asked, his lip curled disdainfully."And the other guy," Dan grumbled. "Vin Diesel's stunt double.” - Peter Lerangis

11. “Did you hear that?" Casper said."Bats," Cheyenne replied.Casper gasped with horror. "You know I hate bats," he hissed."Bats bats bats bats bats," Cheyenne said."Stop it! We're not kids anymore!" Casper shouted."This way, Braveheart.” - Peter Lerangis

12. “Once apon a time, Ian's dark, dreamy eyes had made her melt inside. The angle of his head, the wrinkle in the left corner of his lip—they'd obsessed her. And he'd been obsessed right back.Now all Amy wanted to do was throw her shoe at the screen.” - Peter Lerangis

13. “Who needs bread crumbs," Dan replied, "when you have GPS?” - Peter Lerangis

14. “Caught in a bad romance. Whoaaa-oh-ooooh!"Nellie wailed along to the XM radio blaring from the enormous speakers."Can I uncover my ears now?" Dan called from the back, where he was reclined across the leather seat. "Has Nellie stopped her Lady Gag Me impression?” - Rick Riordan

15. “They'd been played. By a tuba!” - Jude Watson

16. “It hurts," Nellie said."I know," Reagan said. "No pain, no gain.""Do you think they made that expression up for bullet wounds?” - Jude Watson

17. “You're in trouble. Do you expect me to just walk away?""I wouldn't hold it against you if you did.""In know you wouldn't. That's only one of the reasons I'm crazy about you. I've got a million more.""Just a million?""Okay, a million plus one—your cat."She giggled. "You're bonding with Saladin?""Somebody has to protect that cat from your cousin Ian. And I feed him. The cat. Not Ian. He's on his own. Anyway, if that doesn't get me Perfect Boyfriend status, I don't know what will.""Emptying the litter box?""Hey. I have my limits."Amy laughed. She had the phone pressed to her ear so tightly it burned. She closed her eyes, picturing his face...Ian's crisp voice broke in. "All right, lovebirds, let's move on. No offense, but I believe Amy and Dan might need a short course in style and class.""Is this the nonoffensive part?" Dan asked. "I can't wait until you really insult us.""Let's deal with reality, shall we? You don't just walk into an auction house in your jeans and backpacks. You have to blend in. And that's going to be hard." Ian sniffed. "Considering that you're Americans.""What are you talking about, dude?" Dan asked. "This is my best SpongeBob T-shirt.” - Jude Watson

18. “We just stole a painting and smuggled ourselves off a train," Amy said, trying to sound confident. "And we can't shop?” - Jude Watson

19. “Amy felt her phone vibrate. She held it up. It was from Ian.DON'T ASK THE PRICE OF ANYTHING. DON'T SMILE. DON'T SAY "DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING CHEAPER?" DON'TAmy shoved the phone back in her pocket. "Just pretend to be Ian," she told Dan.” - Jude Watson

20. “Hamilton awkwardly folded himself into the passenger seat. "Couldn't you get something bigger?" he asked as he banged his knee against the dashboard."We're supposed to be a diversion," Jonah said. "Got to make an entrance. Can't do that in a minivan, Giganto Boy. Can't do much in a minivan except look about as uncool as it gets.""Hey! My dad drives a minivan.""Snap.” - Jude Watson

21. “You're a model? Never would have guessed," Jonah said in a lazy, teasing voice that caused Hamilton's head to swivel. He'd never seen Jonah flirt before.The girl tilted her head. The glossy hair spilled down one bare shoulder. "Un moment...you look familiar."Jonah grinned. "Yeah?""'Ave we met? Are you an 'airdresser?""A hairdresser?" Jonah choked out."Guys, we'd better get going," Hamilton said."The name is Jonah," Jonah said, pronuncing his name carefully. He waited for a sign of recognition."Nicole.""Jonah Wizard."Nicole squinted at him. "You are a wee-zhard? Like the Harry Potter, non?""I'm Hamilton," Hamilton said, even though nobody asked.” - Jude Watson

22. “Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Ian put in. "Just fridge yourselves, as Jonah says.""Dude," Dan said. "Do you mean chill?""Precisely. Just what I said.” - Jude Watson

23. “There's something wrong with the brakes." He didn't recognize his shaky, weak voice. He pumped them again. Nothing. "There's something wrong with the BRAKES?""I don't think we have any.""We don't have any BRAKES?""Bro, it doesn't help to repeat everything I say!" Jonah yelled.” - Jude Watson

24. “Whoa," Madison whistled, craning her neck to examine the chandelier."This is even fancier than Red Lobster," Reagan said in awe."Look at this rich people's hockey-stick holder," Madison said as she ran a slightly grubby finger along the edge of the antique umbrella stand. "I want one!” - Riley Clifford

25. “Ouch!" Amy yelped, causing Hamilton to release her. "Sorry," she said, smiling as she rubbed her shoulder. "I'm just a little sore."Madison nodded gravely. "Smart peole books are pretty heavy.” - Riley Clifford

26. “Hi!" she said, a bit louder than she meant to. Ian raised one eyebrow and Amy felt the beginnings of a blush. She started to give Ian a hug, but he had already bent forward to kiss her on the cheek. Her sudden movement three him off, and they ended up bumping foreheads. "Sorry," Amy said, turning away so Ian wouldn't see that her face had turned bright red."Quite all right. I had forgotten you do things differently across the pond." He took a step back to look at Amy. "I take it jeans are the latest in evening wear here in the wild west?" He made an exaggerated show of narrowing her eyes. "Is that a juice stain on your blouse? How fetching.” - Riley Clifford

27. “Dorms?" Amy heard Natalie call from behind her. "You're joking, right?""Don't worry," Hamilton said as he raced ahead, carrying both his and Natalie's suitcases. "Madison doesn't sleepwalk anymore.""Bring that back!" Natalie shouted as she ran after him. "I'm going to stay at the Ritz-Carlton!""Is that where they make the crackers?" Madison asked. "I'm coming, too!” - Riley Clifford

28. “Global warming doesn't care what's in your bank account."-Sinead Starling” - Gordon Korman

29. “Amy was profoundly shocked. "A little over an hour ago, our bus was attacked by three men in ski masks. They definitely knew me, and probably Dan, too. We fought them off, but it could've gone either way.""Like if they'd used a cookie truck instead of a gas tanker," Dan added. "Nobody's scared of Oreos.” - Gordon Korman

30. “The computer beeped as the upload completed. A moment later, Ian Kabra appeared on the screen.Dan was surprised. "Hey, Ian, isn't it, like, two in the morning back there?""It's called jet lag," Ian informed him. "I'm still on London time. I don't suppose you savages have any tea in this mausoleum.""There's a diet Snapple in the fridge."Ian shuddered. "I thought not.” - Gordon Korman

31. “Check it out."Jonah removed the bubble wrap and held up the picture for his three cousins.Dan took a step backward. The shock was almost as powerful as it had been the day before at the Uffizi. "It's perfect! It's every bit as disgusting as the real one!"Amy nodded. "And so fast. We only called you yesterday."Jonah shrugged. "Even the Janus take a short cut every now and then. You can do a lot with digitization these days. You break the picture down to squares and reproduce them one at a time. The other two are just as fly.""You mean, hog ugly," Hamilton amended. "The serpents don't help," Dan put in critically. "Live fat spaghetti. Lady, if you're thinking of a modeling career, forget it!" The rapper clucked sympathetically. "You guys just don't appreciate the power of the visual image. The Wiz used to be like that–until Gangsta Kronikles. When you're in film industry, you understand the whole picture's-worth-a-thousand-words deal."Hamilton rolled his eyes. "Here we go again.” - Gordon Korman

32. “Free food!" mumbled Hamilton, his mouth full. "No wonder you're rich. You don't have to pay for anything.""Since when is it free?" Jonah demanded. "If I don't leave a big tip, it'll be all over Europe that the Wiz is a cheapskate! They'll seat me behind the sound-man from the penguin movie at the Oscars!” - Gordon Korman

33. “Dan inched closer. "Are her eyelids moving?"Jonah was on his feet now, cheerleading. "Get up, babysitter! Up! Up!” - Gordon Korman

34. “What does it feel like to get shot?""I don't recommend it," said Nellie in a controlled voice. "Chocolate is definitely better.” - Gordon Korman

35. “Hamilton was bug-eyed. "Who are those people?"Jonah held his head. "Man, I should have known it was a mistake to say I'd be leaving town soon! Why do fans have to be so literal?""Are they going to let us go get the faxes?" Hamilton asked.Jonah stared at him. "You're kidding, right?” - Gordon Korman

36. “A bronze plaque read: GAIUS PLINIUS CAECILIUS SECUNDUSDan made a face. "Get a load of the guy with the funny name.""I think that's Pliny the younger, the famous Roman writer," Amy supplied. She bent down to read the English portion of the tablet. "Right. In A.D. 79, Pliny chronicled the destruction of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It's one of the earliest eyewitness accounts of a major disaster."Dan yawned. "Doesn't this remind you of the clue hunt? You know–you telling me a bunch of boring stuff, and me not listening?” - Gordon Korman

37. “Wonderful. What's the point of throwing a hissy fit without friends and family on hand to hear it?"-Amy Cahill” - Gordon Korman

38. “Change of plan–," she called to Jonah. "Can you drop us off in Rome?""Yo, am I a movie star or a taxi service?" Jonah grumbled from the depths of the script pile."Technically, your neither," Hamilton puffed, lifting weights again. "I mean, you're a star and you've made movies...” - Gordon Korman

39. “How you are in this place that has been sealed since the time of Caesar Augustus?" one of the archaeologists demanded in amazement."I was looking for my sister," Dan quipped."Your sister?""Oh—here she is." Dan reached through the opening and hauled out an equally grubby Amy.” - Gordon Korman

40. “Desperately, Phoenix attempted to maneuver both tips of the instrument around the bullet. He knew that each move caused Nellie unimaginable pain, but he could not grasp the target. "It's no use," he sobbed. "And my hand is going numb."In a frenzy, Nellie shouted something into the gag, but no one could understand her."I beg your pardon, child?" queried Alistair.Nellie spat out the rag and rasped, "Get the Kabra chick!""Natalie?" Fiske exclaimed. "She's fallen completely to pieces.""Get her!" Nellie demanded. "Anybody with eyebrows plucked like that knows how to use a tweezers!"Reagan bounded across the room and came back with a shivering, mewling Natalie."I can't!" she wheezed.Fiske poured alchohol over the girl's beautifully manicured fingers. "You must."Still protesting, her eyes tightly shut, she took over the instrument from Phoenix. "I can't do it! You can't make me—oh!" She said in sudden surprise. "This?" And when she pulled the tweezers out of the wound, the tips were firmly grasping a flattened, blood-slimed bullet.Nellie laughed—and promptly fainted.” - Gordon Korman

41. “Ian Kabra rolled up his window. "My god, what's that smell?"Behind the wheel, Sinead laughed. "It's called fresh air. Growing up in London, you've probably never breathed it before.""And I hope I never breathe it again.” - Gordon Korman