Young Adult Literature

10 Quotes From BLOOD WATER PAINT That Feel Like a Gut Punch

Blood Water Paint is a feminist AF Young Adult novel in (mostly) verse by Joy McCullough. Here are ten short quotes from the book.

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Blood Water Paint is a feminist AF Young Adult novel in (mostly) verse by Joy McCullough about Artemisia Gentileschi. “She was one of Rome’s most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost.” (Goodreads) This book totally blew me away and stuck to my thoughts for weeks after listening to the audiobook. Soon after, I picked up a print copy and reread the entire thing in one day. I never reread. As I did that, I started taking pictures of my favorite passages with my phone so I could keep them close to me. The next day, I shared a couple with friends, who made those mournful sounds in recognition of truth that women know so well. Now, I’m sharing them with you.

1.

“Piazzas, churches named for a teenager who gave life to Christ. Sculptures, paintings, frescoes devoted to her holiness. But the only thing about her we remember: she was a virgin.”

2.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhMDRFznhBY/ “I do not regret the days of make-believe, but for every time I played at bride I should have played at goddess river warrior queen.”

3.

“‘Those two lechers will be stoned because of what you did! You have to go—’ ‘They’ll be stoned because of what they did.’ (This is so important, love. They’ll be stoned because of what they did.)”

4.

“When a woman risks her place, her very life to speak a truth the world despises? Believe her. Always.”

5.

“These women who dare to judge your heart by your body will never have an ounce of your worth.”

6.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfZrF7uFD0H/ “I wish men would decide if women are heavenly angels on high, or earthbound sculptures for their gardens. But either way we’re beauty for consumption.”

7.

“(Why, though, does it take a mother, daughter, sister for men to take a woman at her word?)”

8.

“‘Be careful.’ But she stayed behind a wall and still they found her. I’m done being careful.”

9.

“I have a mind a will a vote.”

10.

“I’m a little girl when they want to belittle me, a woman when they want me to bear a child.”   This book had a profound impact on me and I’ve been recommending it to every reader I know. I hope you’ll check it out. Content warning for off-page rape and on-page depression/PTSD.