The fish drew closer; its fins stroked the sluggish current. A Girl Named Disaster 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

They wanted to capture as many Smokies as possible in a single stroke. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

He did the breast stroke, and not too well, either, so I left him and joined Marie. The Stranger 1989-03-13T00:00:00Z

But finding a change of clothes—less than three hours after escaping the camp and before anyone could get a look at him—was an extraordinary stroke of luck. Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West 2013-03-26T00:00:00Z

She would stroke his hoary hair and tease him that it was no longer black like his son’s. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

Grandma stroked my hair exactly the way Mom used to. The Science of Breakable Things 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

“But please don’t be alarmed when you see him. Because of the stroke, he’s having a hard time speaking.” Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

The crowds gathered ten deep for one hundred feet in each direction, a few spectators reaching through the slats of the fence to stroke Seabiscuit’s chest as Smith cinched the girth on Woolf’s kangaroo-leather saddle. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

A few strokes of my pencil and the oval of his face is done. Bronx Masquerade 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

His father’s stroke had convinced him that Lefty was no longer at the top of his game. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

The sprite floated down to alight on the armrest of the throne, and Elowen stroked her yellow hair, making her shiver. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

When, trembling, she regained her composure, and her breath came regularly again, Lord Cheldthorpe nodded, and they whipped her one last stroke. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

Instead, her fingers stroked the smooth threads of a crimson butterfly Pinmei hadn’t noticed before. When the Sea Turned to Silver 2016-10-04T00:00:00Z

Ulbrickson, a former stroke oar—one of the best Washington had ever known—was tall, well built, and notably handsome. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The cooing and stroking was like warmth moving through Hanako’s veins. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

“An exquisite refinement, exquisite. Because of course the chalk strokes would have been almost unbearable, excruciating, if the victim were ticklish.” The Haunting of Hill House 1959-10-01T00:00:00Z

As he had run forward, eager, rejoicing to be free, Shelob with hideous speed had come behind and with one swift stroke had stung him in the neck. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

Highly enjoyable though it was to swim in hot and foamy water with clouds of different-colored steam wafting all around him, no stroke of brilliance came to him, no sudden burst of understanding. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 2000-07-08T00:00:00Z

‘So many strange things have chanced that to learn the praise of a fair lady under the loving strokes of a Dwarf’s axe will seem no great wonder. Farewell!’ The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

The small hand trembled so that the first eager stroke sent a great blot of ink sprawling across the page. The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958-12-01T00:00:00Z

His mom would have a stroke if she heard him. A Heart in a Body in the World 2018-09-18T00:00:00Z

At the temples we all scattered, and before I could corner Maurice again I realized that I might have had a tremendous stroke of good luck. Double Helix 1968-02-27T00:00:00Z

"Beth, you shouldn't make up stories," Sansa corrected the younger girl, gently stroking her hair to take the harshness out of her words. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Pop strokes my hair and kisses me right on the nose like he sometimes does with Leda. Towers Falling 2016-07-12T00:00:00Z

He slapped the fish onto the table and, in one clean stroke of the hatchet, lopped off its head. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

“But,” said Kojo, stroking his chin thoughtfully, “how could they know we know what we know?” The Smartest Kid in the Universe 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z

“Everybody knows Max loves you, Stefi,” says Helena, stroking the hair of her doll. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

She could almost dance on the water, Malcolm thought, and he stroked the gunwale with love. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

Look closely, and you’ll see that one font has fancy “serifs,” that is, finishing strokes on the letters. The Woman All Spies Fear 2021-10-19T00:00:00Z

Just as at Princeton, someone in the middle of the boat washed out on the first or second stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

My grandfather is now almost completely recovered from the strokes he had back in ’89, and has a much easier time talking. Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Yes, he told us, my mother had suffered a stroke of paralysis. Black Boy 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Let us dose her now, before we move on,” said Luxa, stroking Boots’s forehead. Gregor the Overlander 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

With one powerful stroke of her wings she was above him. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

The first was being babysat by some boy in a uniform holding a broken skateboard across his lap, stroking it like a hurt dog. Look Both Ways 2019-10-08T00:00:00Z

If he removed his hand from under her, she could only manage three or four strokes before sinking. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

The boys sat up, wrapped their arms around their knees, and watched the little girl stroke the dog. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

She loved to stroke him, to feed him, to put him to bed. Charlotte's Web 1952-10-15T00:00:00Z

It was this man who held up the topaz and said four words in a long-dead tongue, words which hung on the air like the strokes of a huge bronze gong. Stardust 1998-10-01T00:00:00Z

As she strokes and suckles and studies her son, she can’t help but pity him. The Namesake 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

There are two ways to stroke one’s beard. Aru Shah and the End of Time 2018-03-27T00:00:00Z

The British boys were taking long, sweeping strokes, all but lying on their backs at the end of each pull. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

It was the exact truth and it had leaped out like the stroke of a snake. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

Rishi made the first strokes, his hand dwarfing the stub of charcoal pencil that had obviously been sharpened many, many times. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

Duels at high noon and executions at the stroke of midnight. We'll Fly Away 2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

“And then I get mad at that other man, for having a stroke or whatever he had, like he shouldn’t have been driving, but then I know that doesn’t make sense either.” Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story 2016-06-28T00:00:00Z

To come to New York City in the 1890s with a background in dressmaking or sewing or Schnittwaren Handlung was a stroke of extraordinary good fortune. Outliers 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z

Besides, they were meant to go with embraces and kisses and a stroke of Prim’s hair, a caress of Gale’s face, a squeeze of Madge’s hand. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

Thiazi hauled the boat down the strand into the cold waters of the northern ocean and rowed with huge strokes out into the sea. Norse Mythology 2017-02-07T00:00:00Z

She smiled and stroked his head and whispered, "I just had the sweetest dream, m'lord." A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

There, sitting on the back steps in the dark, stroking one of the Outside Cats, sat Granddaddy, smoking a cigar and staring at the sky. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

He began to rub the stone along the needle in short, quick strokes. Gregor the Overlander 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

I compelled my hand to stroke his fur, and Fig started his revved-up-engine purr. Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence 2022-03-22T00:00:00Z

"Ad easy victory, to be sure. And what glory, to win Storm's End with a single stroke!" A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

My heart had done a little leap, because in a single stroke, with that little laugh of agreement, it felt as though Tommy and I had come close together again after all the years. Never Let Me Go 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z

Presently, under her gentle stroking, she felt a throaty vibration, then heard a rusty, feeble purring. The Incredible Journey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

“This is a famous printer’s special sign,” explained Elinor, stroking the dolphin’s pointed nose with one finger. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

When we came to it, Arturo stopped and stroked his mustache, glancing in both directions. The Book of Unknown Americans 2014-06-03T00:00:00Z

With one stroke, Euron had turned a rival into a supporter, secured the isles in his absence, and removed Asha as a threat. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

With a stroke of the pen the military changed world history, erasing every incident, ideology, and historical figure of which the regime disapproved. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

Oliver had not been well for a long time, but the stroke that killed him occurred suddenly and without warning. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

My mother strokes my hair, something I can’t remember her doing since I was a little girl. A Mango-Shaped Space 2003-04-16T00:00:00Z

It was as if a hand stroked her hair—lightly, swiftly passing, but most certainly there. A Girl Named Disaster 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

My uncle sat quietly for a time, stroking his mustache with the little finger of his right hand. Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z

Gus had come outside a couple of times and sat with us, chewing on a toothpick and stroking the scrawny black cat curled up in his lap. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

With strong strokes he pulls the blade against the stone, sharpening it. Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

The priest kept leaning forward to look closely at him, and felt his hands to see whether he was cold, and stroked his knee. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

Like a stroke victim, I was having to relearn all the simple motor skills. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

Tall as I was, I laid my head on my mother’s shoulder, and she stroked my hair while I sobbed. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

Tree-ear came to expect the pain; the throbbing was like an unwelcome companion who appeared daily after the first few strokes of the ax. A Single Shard 2001-04-23T00:00:00Z

Under her stroking fingers, it was soft as cat’s fur. Lupita Mañana 1981-03-21T00:00:00Z

All morning, Stella strokes Ruby, pats her, smells her. The One and Only Ivan 2012-01-17T00:00:00Z

“Come on,” I said softly, stroking her hair. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

She put her hand through the bars again and stroked Arion’s nose. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

He’s stroking my body now, from stem as they say to stern, cat stroke along the left flank, down the left leg. The Handmaid's Tale 1985-01-01T00:00:00Z

Carefully, Tristran unwound the silver chain, unhooking it from the root, while stroking the bird's ruffled plumage with his left hand. Stardust 1998-10-01T00:00:00Z

Bloom’s body was infused with good feeling, compassion, love, and as Linda gently stroked his forehead, singing a song in Spanish, he fell asleep. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

Instead of remaining and playing, he swam with steady strokes under Simon and crawled out of the other side of the pool to lie there, sleek and streaming like a seal. Lord of the Flies 1954-09-17T00:00:00Z

By stroking it, he had found out how smooth and soft its coat was. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

He was not even distracted by Silent Sam who sat upon his knee, stroking his whiskers with a sticky paw. Redwall 1986-10-23T00:00:00Z

We both went on patting and stroking Jasper, who, unaccustomed to such attention, rolled over on his back in ecstasy. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

He surfaced and stroked to the side to try again. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

When he saw that Riccio was slumped on his mattress crying, he walked over and, awkwardly, stroked his spiky head. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

He felt her hand on his face, stroking back his hair. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Moch barked at them to raise the stroke, and then barked again. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The anger in her strokes as she chops it is unmistakable. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

It was Edmund who swam away from me with fast, wild strokes. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

Could he still stroke out, or fall into a coma? Eleanor & Park 2013-02-26T00:00:00Z

She tried to make time pass by drawing an elephant in one stroke, the way Jalil had shown her, over and over. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

He stroked his handlebar mustache, waiting for an answer. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

Next it was Day, who died of a stroke, surrounded by his family. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

Next to her on the narrow bed, Gramps was lying on top of the covers, stroking her hair. Walk Two Moons 1994-06-30T00:00:00Z

It even went on as the strokes were being administered. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

The hermaphrodite stroked the brow of their gargantuan master, pushing back his sweat-damp hair. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

Now that she was back safe and sound she stroked and scolded her at the same time with relief. Redwall 1986-10-23T00:00:00Z

His companion had begun to shudder, his hairy fingers raking and stroking the green grass. Stardust 1998-10-01T00:00:00Z

She stroked his curling hair and smoothed his cheek gently. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then we would stroke its long face and gradually, over more weeks, work our hands around its wide neck and down its muscular body. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

With his other hand he strokes his mustache. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

She killed the child with one stroke of the dagger. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes 1942-01-01T00:00:00Z

Once they’d gone, all the nuns flooded into the baby’s room and surrounded Sister Benedicta, uttering little words of sympathy and admiration, stroking Lyra’s head. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

He’s so sensitive, he probably won’t be able to sleep tonight; he’ll call for me to stroke his head and sing to him. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Come here to me! I won’t hurt you. I love you already. Come and be stroked!” Tiger, Tiger 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z

When a falconer fed his bird, he stroked her with one of her own feathers, often accompanying the feeding and stroking with a scrap of melody: always the same song. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village 2007-07-24T00:00:00Z

Knowing exactly what he was doing and exactly what it would mean, he moved his hand from Lyra’s wrist and stroked the red-gold fur of her dæmon. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

The stroke had been quick and careless, biting deep. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

It was the usual sort of war, with a great deal of shoring and shouting on both sides, great strokes smitten, many men overthrown, and great valiances, prowesses, and feats of arms shown every day. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

Max stood at the front of the lecture hall, stroking his beard and smiling benevolently at them all. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

I felt Fay’s arms stroking the muscles on my back, my shoulders, and the tightness inside me built up as it had never before done for a woman. Flowers for Algernon 1959-05-01T00:00:00Z

He took the kitten out of Bo's arms and placed it on his lap, stroking its tiny ears. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

Glass put one hand on her hip and stroked Redemption’s cheek with the other. Pet 2019-09-10T00:00:00Z

I stroked her hair and patted her shoulder. A Farewell To Arms 1929-09-02T00:00:00Z

I swallow a few mouthfuls of water and lose count of my strokes and mess up my breathing. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

Chester lifted the black wings that were carefully folded across his back and with a quick, expert stroke drew the top one over the bottom. The Cricket in Times Square 1960-01-01T00:00:00Z

Although Doha wasn’t hungry, his grandmother gently coerced him to eat every bite, stroking his back the whole time. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

She jabs the tiny brush into the coral bottle, wipes the excess under the rim, and expertly strokes it on her big toe, correcting the line with her thumb. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

A smiling Heath Huxley, his perfectly proportioned teeth shining like a white picket fence, stepped out of the principal’s office and stroked his sleek black mane. The Smartest Kid in the Universe 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z

I became impatient; I hurried my strokes and I made one unforced error after another. Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

But suddenly he too stumbled forward with a cry of bitter pain, and his stroke went wide, driving into the ground. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

My mom smiles and strokes my hair comfortingly as she looks over at my dad. Five Feet Apart 2018-11-20T00:00:00Z

Farmer suspects he’s had a stroke because he has difficulty walking. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

“What a stroke of luck for us!” exclaimed the doctor. Murder on the Orient Express 1934-01-01T00:00:00Z

‘Don’t you go promising, Johnny/ she said. She was stroking Goblin’s face. ‘I think your horse is the most beautiful horse I ever saw. Johnny Tremain 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked the petals of the white roses and wondered if this was what I was meant to do with mine. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

He patted me one final time on my shoulder, stroked his mustache with his other hand, and nodded slowly. Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z

They nodded and murmured and stroked her with their trunks as she stepped down. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

How I miss being touched—Nan stroking my hair, Darin arm-wrestling me and pretending to lose, Pop squeezing my shoulder good night. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

The delivery boy stroked the gray stubble on his pointed chin. The Westing Game 1979-01-01T00:00:00Z

I kept him inside the shell of my body and stroked him. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

And stroking his bottom lip with a thumb. How It Went Down 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

He almost gave my grandfather a stroke, but in a few minutes he realized that the two of them had a common goal: to rescue me. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stands up, walks over, and squeezes next to me on the floor and strokes my hair like he used to when I was little. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

She tucks me in and strokes my hair. Burning Blue 2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

By adding a vertical stroke beside it, and the picture of a man kneeling, one could write the word sah, “son.” The Golden Goblet 1961-04-24T00:00:00Z

“It’s a stroke of luck the parents aren’t about,” he said. The Book of Three 1964-03-12T00:00:00Z

I got the punting stroke down eventually — it was more of a pull with the lower hand than a push with the upper — and I was able to help Wello out more often. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

His touch was feather-light, stroking my skin with a kind of reverence, but the instant his lips found mine again, a single thought was enough to rocket me out of the honey-sweet haze. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

At a stroke, the village hosting the Westerners would gleam with wealth; its neighbors would seek a share of the undeserved bounty; conflict would explode. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

Then I stroked grease into the leftover bush-ball, tugging it straight, then letting it go, watching it shrink back into dark brown cotton candy. Patina 2017-08-29T00:00:00Z

I've seen two in my time and I think he's suffered a stroke.' The Remains of the Day 1989-05-01T00:00:00Z

Above us, stern nuns in crisp whites watched our intrusion from the strokes of a massive oil painting housed in a gilt frame. The Miseducation of Cameron Post 2012-02-07T00:00:00Z

At the stroke of midnight, the bells began to peal. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents 1991-01-04T00:00:00Z

I heard him tell Cudn Hope that the postcards were “a stroke of genius.” Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

He stroked it gently and then he blushed and turned hastily away. The Fellowship of the Ring 1954-07-29T00:00:00Z

Meggie stroked his arm where his shirt hid the long, pale scar. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

David drops down next to me and strokes my back. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

Planting her feet firmly in the grass, she disposed of her old self year by year in thirteen strokes. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

“God has heard our prayers,” said Kushal, stroking the cub’s head as he held her. Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

He tried to stroke her with his left hand, but that made his arm throb with even more pain. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

He stroked her and held her tight against his cheek. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge 2018-09-25T00:00:00Z

He stroked Gwenforte’s head, and she stared up at him, apparently hypnotized, immobilized by his words and his soothing hand—save for a faint tremor in her legs. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

A killing stroke took decision, clarity of intent. Six of Crows 2015-09-29T00:00:00Z

Now Babulya was in the kitchen in front of a boiling pot, her ghostly eyes staring at nothing as she stirred the concoction with short, angry strokes. Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

The first was built largely around a core of last year’s freshmen: Don Hume, the big powerful stroke; Gordy Adam at number seven; William Seaman at number six; and Johnny White at number four. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He stroked Grover, whose spots seemed to expand and shrink as he panted. Typical American 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

A woman stroking the hair of the lifeless friend in her lap. What the Night Sings 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

As for the overseer, he made much play of his authority, directing them with a loud voice and many gestures but doing not a stroke of work himself. Nectar in a Sieve 1954-01-01T00:00:00Z

Her teeth chattered and Mum sat on the arm of the sofa, stroking her hair. The London Eye Mystery 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mr. Beaver stroked his whiskers as he thought. The Wild Robot 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

At the stroke of midnight I woke up again: more planes! The Diary of a Young Girl 1997-02-03T00:00:00Z

But after a dazed second she sighted the bobbing piece of wood and instinctively struck out after it in vigorous strokes that set her blood moving again. The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958-12-01T00:00:00Z

Under Leon’s steady gaze, Bailey had stopped stroking his cheek, even though a pink welt had appeared, like an evil stain spreading on his flesh. The Chocolate War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

He knelt down and stroked her head, smiling down at her. Keep It Together, Keiko Carter 2020-05-05T00:00:00Z

She was about to stroke his head, when he picked up the bone and carried it back to the den. Julie of the Wolves 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Mollie! Look me in the face. Do you give me your word of honour that that man was not stroking your nose?” Animal Farm: A Fairy Story 1945-08-17T00:00:00Z

Never again—they were sure of it—would they have the chance of stroking a Panda. Mary Poppins 1962-10-27T00:00:00Z

I wanted him to comfort me, to stroke my hair. The Old Willis Place 2004-09-20T00:00:00Z

Nick slid his face onto Papa's lap and Papa stroked his ears. Sarah, Plain and Tall 1985-04-25T00:00:00Z

Then he took a thick needle and thread and, with deft, quick strokes, he sewed it up, like a man stitching a baseball: the cadaver transformed from meat into girl once again. American Gods 2011-06-21T00:00:00Z

Five strokes later, Moch would direct his megaphone over to the sophomore boat and say, “Well, Green just opened his big mouth again. Let’s pass them!” The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

No one slept, not even DroopeyC Dale, an oarsman who had been known to nap between strokes. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

Finally, she lifted her head and touched the letter again, gently stroking the page with her palm, as if she was trying to draw the words into herself. Moon Over Manifest 2010-10-12T00:00:00Z

Under his watchful eye I lay on the beach and fluttered my legs and scratched away at the sand with my hands, turning my head at every stroke to breathe. Life of Pi 2001-09-01T00:00:00Z

A fourth stroke was delivered, with the lecture continuing. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

I let Mummy put her arms around me and stroke my hair. We Were Liars 2014-05-13T00:00:00Z

Hornet stroked his hair comfortingly, but Bo pulled his head away. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

Wednesday was still sitting on the sofa, sipping his coffee, stroking the gray cat. American Gods 2011-06-21T00:00:00Z

Angel just stared out of the window and stroked her sleeping cat. Forged by Fire 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

She also had an eyebrow ring, a little silver thing that the stroke judges made her remove before she could compete. The Miseducation of Cameron Post 2012-02-07T00:00:00Z

I wiped her forehead with my handkerchief and stroked her back gently. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

It was while we were in the country that we had our first important stroke of luck. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH 1970-06-01T00:00:00Z

I stroke her tangled hair, my hand brushing against her hot wet forehead. Al Capone Does My Shirts 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

At last he moves forward, puts his arms around me, strokes my back, holds me that way, for comfort. The Handmaid's Tale 1985-01-01T00:00:00Z

Hazel was in bed pretending not to cry, and her mother was stroking her forehead, whispering to her gently. Breadcrumbs 2011-09-27T00:00:00Z

The chaplain’s wife was a sweet, soothing, considerate woman, and he yearned to touch the warm flesh of her slender arm again and stroke her smooth black hair, to hear her intimate, comforting voice. Catch-22 1961-11-10T00:00:00Z

Uriah himself was tumbling from his horse, like rather an inexperienced diver, under the influence of a stroke which one of the opposing knights had delivered in the region of his midriff. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

The spirit leans closer and strokes her chin. Amari and the Night Brothers 2021-01-19T00:00:00Z

She put down the Tonic and the box and held me, stroking my forehead. Ella Enchanted 1998-09-01T00:00:00Z

She still seemed agitated, so he sat with her and stroked her hand, which always calmed her. Eleven 2014-01-06T00:00:00Z

Sometimes a bonobo would come over and sit in front of Otto and me, back turned, expecting to be stroked. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

She scooped him up and stroked him, all the while staring at me dumbstruck. Stargirl 2000-08-08T00:00:00Z

“I just couldn’t take it. My speech is coming back a little better—I almost had two strokes in two weeks cause of all that stuff with my mother cells.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

I dipped in a fat brush and spread the paint along the old clapboard siding in long, smooth strokes. The Glass Castle 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z

Soraya told me that, ever since her mother’s stroke, every flutter in her chest was a heart attack, every aching joint the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, and every twitch of the eye another stroke. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

“Hugo, it wasn’t your fault” I stroked my little brother’s hair and told him about crimes that had happened without anyone knowing intruders were in the house. Confessions of a Murder Suspect 2012-09-24T00:00:00Z

I reach out and stroke her back, like she just stroked mine. Before We Were Free 2002-08-13T00:00:00Z

A sunlit sky, a white world, and we two strokes of shadow on it, fleeing. The Left Hand of Darkness 1969-03-01T00:00:00Z

It was like a quick stroke across the strings of a violin, or like a harp that has been plucked suddenly. The Cricket in Times Square 1960-01-01T00:00:00Z

She stroked my hair for a while, and then she sent me back into the room. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

He let go of Prosper and stroked his chin. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

In one stroke, Archie had forced Renault to show up here, to become part of the chocolate sale, and he also placed Renault at the mercy of the school, the students. The Chocolate War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked his smooth head as I leaned back to stare at the blue sky, still smiling, while trying to catch my breath. Keep It Together, Keiko Carter 2020-05-05T00:00:00Z

When I went back inside, I looked out the den window and could feel Nathan’s watchfulness with every paint stroke. It All Comes Down to This 2017-07-11T00:00:00Z

Squeezing my arms and stroking my belly and up to my chest. The Season of Styx Malone 2018-10-16T00:00:00Z

She ducks beneath his arm, light-footed as a dancer, and takes off his head with one clean stroke. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

Then Frodo stepped up to the great grey net, and hewed it with a wide sweeping stroke, drawing the bitter edge swiftly across a ladder of close-strung cords, and at once springing away. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

The strokes before mattered, even though you couldn’t feel it. X: A Novel 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

She knelt on one knee, her bound wounds protesting as she cupped their heads and stroked their smooth hair. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

Ross grumbled, twitched the mustache, stroked the ends lovingly, glowered. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

She is ushered to a couch on the other side of the box, next to Clara Harris, who begins stroking her hand. Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z

His forefinger stroked his upper lip and his voice was dangerously polite. And Then There Were None 1939-11-06T00:00:00Z

I fold into her arms, and she holds me tight, stroking my head. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

She grows her nails so long that she scratches you even while she strokes your face and says nice things. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Thwaites received four strokes, and by gum, they were four real whoppers. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

Crawling on all fours toward her, he raised his hand and caught the foot in an upward stroke. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

The caterpillar was covered in dense fur that looked as plush and inviting as a cat’s pelt, but I knew better than to stroke it. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

But the boys were as unfamiliar with Coy’s stroke as he was with rowing at that position. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Director Horus narrows his eyes and strokes his chin. Amari and the Night Brothers 2021-01-19T00:00:00Z

“Medicine has advanced a lot, and people can definitely recover from strokes, but there’s no guarantee that they won’t have another one. We have to make sure Grandpa takes better care of himself.” Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

Her mom had suffered a stroke, and after enduring a long convalescence, then had to confront a painful divorce from Ophelia’s father. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

He stroked their fur gently with each hand. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky 2019-10-15T00:00:00Z

In one stroke, his misstep fractured his relations with the regents and alienated the faculty. Big Science 2015-07-07T00:00:00Z

He revived and started beating the water with vigorous, desperate strokes. Life of Pi 2001-09-01T00:00:00Z

And with that he beat the hare again, putting all his strength into the strokes. The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa 2004-12-07T00:00:00Z

On the further side it reared up again, many fathoms at a single leap: a great grey cliff loomed before them, cut sheer down as if by a knife stroke. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

You stroked it tenderly, with just one finger. The Bridge Home 2019-02-05T00:00:00Z

He held my chin and stroked my cheek and said, “Ying-ying, you have tiger eyes. They gather fire in the day. At night they shine golden.” The Joy Luck Club 1989-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ferns stroked my forehead and picked my pockets. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

So we stay in bed, and I let her hold her doll, and I stroke her head, but she always has one hand out, clinging. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

I was still stroking Pixie's curves with my eyes. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

Hyacinth’s eyes filled with tears as she reached down to stroke Franz’s ears. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

Pennsylvania, Navy, and California quickly moved out in front of the pack, rowing high at first, then gradually dropping their stroke rates into the low thirties. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

On that day he had stood beside the rail, listening to the stroke of the oars and the pounding of the master's drum while he watched Pyke dwindle in the distance. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Kallner ruffled his forehead and stroked it with an upward gesture of his hand. I, Robot 1950-12-02T00:00:00Z

His heart beat with every stroke of the drum; the soldiers advanced to the self-same sound. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

He chuckled, stroked his whiskery face, and took the fish. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked his chin with his furry paw. The Thing About Jellyfish 2015-09-22T00:00:00Z

To steady the boys, Moch began to chant their newest rowing mantra in time with the stroke—“Save, Save, Save”—reminding them that this was all about conserving power. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

California exploded off the line, lashing the water at a furious thirty-eight strokes per minute. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

My parents exchanged one of those looks I couldn’t understand, and he went back to bed while Mom stayed by my bed, stroking my hair as sleep reached up and sucked me under. The Science of Breakable Things 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

With a gaunt forefinger she stroked the lustrous strand above her mouth. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

‘The stroke on the left might be a G-rune with thin branches,’ said Strider. The Fellowship of the Ring 1954-07-29T00:00:00Z

Confusion, panic, and incoherent speech are all symptoms of extremely high blood pressure and blood sugar, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

Everything began to feel right again, so long as Don Hume was in at stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The AEC, Congress, and the Pentagon all recognized that Livermore, at a stroke, answered every objection raised against the second lab. Big Science 2015-07-07T00:00:00Z

“They all begin with this single upright stroke followed by the three up-and-down lines. Just the way you drew it.” Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Laurie, who went by Ran, was perhaps the best British stroke of his generation—188 pounds of power, grace, and keen intelligence. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

As we passed over the dark bridge her wan face fell lazily against my coat's shoulder and the formidable stroke of thirty died away with the reassuring pressure of her hand. The Great Gatsby 1925-04-10T00:00:00Z

Two days later Anthony suffered a stroke that left her unable to speak. Votes for Women! 2018-02-13T00:00:00Z

Then my mother knelt down, and Jupiter put out her hand and stroked her cheek. Orbiting Jupiter 2015-10-06T00:00:00Z

He stroked his fake, thin beard and sensed that it was beginning to develop a life of its own. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

C.P. slowly realized the implications of his transformation, seeing in broad but terrifying strokes the price he was going to have to pay. The Best of Enemies 1996-04-01T00:00:00Z

After supper Rat Kiley went over and stroked its nose. The Things They Carried 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

Her fingers stroked the short, dense fringe of moss that grew across the top of the log. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

Ba stroked her hair as she wept, occasionally closing his eyes as he fought his own gloom. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

He would swim the crawl stroke, up and down and all around the lily pad, while Harriet watched, admiring his ability as a swimmer. Stuart Little 1945-10-17T00:00:00Z

Ma's hands reach over to stroke my skull and pat Starry's cheek. You Bring the Distant Near 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

“Dad can’t talk. He had a major stroke a few years ago.” Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

The furry shape settled itself, and as they stroked, the snore—or the purr—began its rhythm. Mary Poppins 1962-10-27T00:00:00Z

All three of them bowed low to him, and after regarding them imperi-ously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees and allowed Hermione to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 2000-07-08T00:00:00Z

It also got the attention of Harvey Love, the coxswain in the varsity boat, who frantically called for a higher stroke rate. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Once she was ready to be given to the groom, she would pretend to cry, and we would stroke her hair and tell her not to worry. Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World 2013-10-08T00:00:00Z

Bran gave the pup a quick nervous stroke, then turned as Jon said, "Here you go." A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

The hair on his neck was bristling, and he was looking up at Alice, who wiped a wet and soapy hand on her dress before stroking his head with it. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

Stephen’s mom kept stroking her son’s hair the entire time, while his dad shook his head in disbelief. Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish 2018-08-21T00:00:00Z

I told him about Trent and Chip, but only in the broadest strokes. Darius the Great Is Not Okay 2018-08-28T00:00:00Z

She did not know any with thirty strokes, but she knew the kanji for “military ship,” which had twenty-one. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

Quick as a snake Gollum slithered aside, and the stroke aimed at his head fell across his back. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

“What kind are these?” she asked, stroking them. Strange the Dreamer 2017-03-28T00:00:00Z

Each kanji was made up of separate lines, called “strokes,” and a single kanji could have more than thirty strokes—sometimes many more. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

Travis’s mom, lying on the floor, sobbing, three nurses stroking her back and trying to comfort her. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

I look to the left and stroke my chin. It’s Kind of a Funny Story 2006-04-02T00:00:00Z

She strokes one hand down from the top of his shoulder to the middle of his back. The Sea in Winter 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

Stroke after stroke he dealt, until at last all the web within his reach was shattered, and the upper portion blew and swayed like a loose veil in the incoming wind. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

On the next stroke, all eight of the Washington oars caught the water cleanly, perfectly, at once. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The more education and income people have, the less likely they are to have and die of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and many types of cancer. Class Matters 2005-09-02T00:00:00Z

Every stroke he took thus offered each boy the possibility of a wet, cold, and spectacularly public form of humiliation. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Dobrynya recapped the case, stroked a thick finger down the hawk’s back, and said, “I’ll keep him here, so you can write a letter back. Hopefully he’ll return to where he came from.” Anya and the Dragon 2019-09-24T00:00:00Z

A violet column of tourmaline from Madagascar that looks so rich he cannot resist the urge to stroke it. All the Light We Cannot See 2014-05-06T00:00:00Z

At the end of ten strokes, the bows of the boats were dead even again. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I came up for a second, took a deep breath, and swam for the rock, timing my strokes so I wouldn't be thrown onto the lethal surface. City of the Plague God 2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

He felt his rejuvenated heart speed up like the stroke of an outboard motor. Artemis Fowl 2001-04-26T00:00:00Z

Halfway there I had a stroke of luck and spotted Mola crossing the courtyard. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

The pure light stroked her face with the tenderness of a mother, and she felt a wave of anguish. When the Sea Turned to Silver 2016-10-04T00:00:00Z

I reach slowly for the rag again, scoop up sand, press it against the sword blade and give it a stroke. Blood on the River 2006-05-04T00:00:00Z

I laugh with her, stroking Nutmeg huddled against my stomach. Rules 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Indian woman stroked him gently in reward, then ladled some of the meat from the pot onto the grass. The Incredible Journey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

He breathed heavily and seemed to like their gentle stroking. Habibi 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

Almost at a stroke, just 168 men had dealt a devastating blow to the greatest empire on earth. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

They kept edging out in front simply on the power of their long, slow strokes. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

She hugged the younger girl, stroking her hair. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

He had her bend low to the child, then turn and stroke the fox. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

“Suppose I were to tell you,” he asked, stroking the pug, “that I had a letter this morning? That Arthur and Lancelot are dead?” The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

Another stroked his bills with a thumb and forefinger. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

She grabbed a notebook from the purse dangling from her chair and scribbled with hard strokes. Beauty Queens 2011-05-24T00:00:00Z

I know we told you Grandpop died after a fall, but the truth is he fell because he had a stroke. The Crossover 2014-03-18T00:00:00Z

David drops down next to me and strokes my back. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

As Jonas watched, The Giver stroked his own cheek, recalling the touch of Rosemary’s lips ten years before. The Giver 1993-04-01T00:00:00Z

She flung him to the ground, then went back to her place, sat down on the marble floor, and began to stroke the cub again as if nothing had happened. Tiger, Tiger 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z

Abigail described the decision to resume negotiations with France as “a master stroke of policy” because it averted a French war and removed the rationale for Hamilton’s army at one fell swoop. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation 2000-10-17T00:00:00Z

His hand returned to the back of her head, and he stroked her hair one last time. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

There was a curly-haired kid at stroke in the freshman boat, Don Hume, who looked particularly promising. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“I already signed up for a diabetes class and a stroke class to get more understanding about that. Maybe I can take a nutrition class to learn how to eat good, too.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

Ben’s mother stroked her hair with a nervous, raking motion of her hand. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon’s head. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 1997-06-26T00:00:00Z

The oars flung up sprays of water with every stroke. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

She reached up with her left hand and stroked his scalp with her nails, and it calmed him down instantly. Anger Is a Gift 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

They had been hewn with many cruel strokes, and two had been beheaded. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

“A stroke of brilliance I would not have thought possible from you, Worm- tail — though, if truth be told, you were not aware how useful she would be when you caught her, were you?” Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 2000-07-08T00:00:00Z

My instinctive reaction was to cover my backside before the next stroke could hit, so the second crack of the whip fell across my hands. The Boy on the Wooden Box 2013-08-27T00:00:00Z

Each stroke sliced away a piece of calm. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

Following the stroke, she could not breathe, and gagged upon air. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

I feel his arms stroke my back, his hands tighten around my waist, his breath, and his smell, my tongue warm against his, a stirring inside of me that makes my tongue press farther. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

I lean down and stroke Boomer’s head, black dappled with spots of ivory. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

He cleared his throat, grin falling way, and he stroked his chin. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

Then he aimed a stroke down at Medusa’s throat and Athena guided his hand. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes 1942-01-01T00:00:00Z

Lumpy leaned his muzzle on my shoulder, and I stroked his smooth fur. Keep It Together, Keiko Carter 2020-05-05T00:00:00Z

Mom was kneeling beside her, stroking the top of her head. Wonder 2012-02-14T00:00:00Z

Celia gently strokes the trembling dove, staring intently at its broken wing. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

He let his fingers slowly stroke the silent keys, tapping out “I Have Some Friends Before Me Gone.” Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy 2004-05-24T00:00:00Z

Since the bear doesn’t mind being filmed and indeed seems indifferent to his audience, pretty generally some fool will come up to it and try to stroke it or feed it a cupcake or something. A Walk in the Woods 1997-11-01T00:00:00Z

To stay forever within this moment, curled in his arms, his hands softly stroking her back. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

The Lord seemed to be signing his name in the sky with all the right lines and swelling strokes. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked his long ears with all my affection and then exploded in tears. Tasting the Sky 2007-02-20T00:00:00Z

I remembered aching for my mother when I was in foster care, desperate to climb on her lap, smell her musky perfume, have her stroke my hair and call me “Sunshine.” Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

That he, or anyone at that late date, could have named me and set me running with one and the same stroke of the pen was too much. Invisible Man 1952-01-01T00:00:00Z

Everyone else in the boat rows at the rate and power at which the stroke rows. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He left off stroking his daughter’s hair and leaned forward, his big hands open as though he needed their help to explain his meaning. Jacob Have I Loved 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

She’s stroking my hair and leans down to give me a hug. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

I pick him up, stroking his fur, then go to the closet and dig out my game bag and unceremoniously stuff him in. Mockingjay 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z

It included brass and wind instruments, percussion, and a whole gallimau&y of types of strings: plucked, stroked, strummed, keyed and bowed. The Story of Music 2012-12-25T00:00:00Z

He runs his hand down my hair, stroking it like a pelt. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

They entered the final mile dead even and rowed thus, stroke for stroke, for the next three-quarters of a mile. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

But then one day he saw her standing before the bathroom mirror, solemnly applying, with the head of a thumbtack, a fresh stroke of scarlet powder, which she stored in a small jam jar. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

She picked it up, stroked it, kissed it, and then let it go. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

Half her face barely moves, frozen from her stroke. American Street 2017-02-14T00:00:00Z

Great-uncle Edisto keeled over with a stroke on a Saturday morning after breakfast last March. Each Little Bird That Sings 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z

I petted his head and stroked his ears and scratched his belly. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

Her strokes are broad and gentle, the colors muted; Lelia says anatomically correct pictures give the kids nightmares. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

Gently rolling the little goshawk on her back, I stroke her breast to hypnotize her and calm her down. On the Far Side of the Mountain 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

Jon stroked Frightful’s wings and breast, then held her feet in his hand and her body along his forearm. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

His fingertips stroked a sleek feathered shoulder, then the sharp wooden beak, painted a bright gold. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

“Good boy, Shiloh,” I whisper, and stroke him all over. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then he began to cut the green cloth on the table with long sweeping strokes of his arm. Native Son 1940-03-01T00:00:00Z

“Even before her stroke, she was a little...away with the fairies, like. We thought you were one of her”—he did a horror-film voice—“drowned boys, like, from the lake.” Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

The ferret grappled vainly but was cloven in two with one swift stroke. Redwall 1986-10-23T00:00:00Z

He stroked my hand absently, not thinking, talking to Beatrice. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

She took the edge she had freed, gripped it hard between forefinger and thumb, and pulled the dressing back in a sudden stroke. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

“I don’t mind,” Kavita says while stroking the wingless dragon under its chin. Dragons in a Bag 2018-10-23T00:00:00Z

The hand of the judge gently stroked his upper lip. And Then There Were None 1939-11-06T00:00:00Z

Dr. Spires held the syringe in his right hand and stroked Fig with his left. Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence 2022-03-22T00:00:00Z

She whimpers, reaching across the divide to stroke my cheek with the back of her hand. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

As Gray passed Bristle and Runt, his very presence seemed to calm them, as if he were an unseen hand stroking their backs. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

He watched the kid paint on the outside of the door, in careful strokes: Maniac stepped back, admiring his work. Maniac Magee 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

We heard only his rowing and felt the advancement afforded by his strokes upon the oars. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

Watching his therapist push Jason’s chair down the hallway, I hold Nutmeg against my chest, stroking her back with my fingertips. Rules 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

They saw that with one hand, the abbot still stroked Gwenforte’s head. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

She stroked my back for a while, then gently pushed me away. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

When I brought up the buggy, Grandpa stood by old Jack, absently stroking the huge gray forehead, and looked back at the grave site. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

“I have a way with the ladies,” he says to me, stroking Frida under her chin with his index finger. I'll Give You the Sun 2014-09-16T00:00:00Z

But, of course, oarsmen are human and no crew can maintain both powerful strokes and a very high rate indefinitely. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

She began to brush Lady Isobel’s thick hair with short, rough strokes. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

The blind man stroked the strings and played two more chords. Messenger 2004-04-26T00:00:00Z

She leaned forward and stroked a wet strand of hair out of Bo's face. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

At the end of the song he was swimming round his patient so close that he actually touched her, stroking his brown smooth-scaled flanks against her more rattly pale ones. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

She put the hand down, and then picked it up and stroked herself with it again. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

As I stroked his neck, I kept speaking without giving any mind to what I said. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

Aquilla strokes my hair, and warmth flows from her fingers into my body, like spiced cider on a freezing morning. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

At the stroke of half past eight, he has to be in the living room. The Diary of a Young Girl 1997-02-03T00:00:00Z

And the dog sat in my lap and I stroked it. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

She stroked her silk scarf, and every once in a while she looked like she was going to speak and finally put me out of my misery. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

Hard to imagine her legs once strong, the bones hard and parting water, clean sharp strokes, not bent and wrinkled like a baby, not drowning under the sticky yellow light. The House on Mango Street 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

Haiyi said, and her fingers stroked the even skin on her face in disbelief. When the Sea Turned to Silver 2016-10-04T00:00:00Z

I bring him water, and now Max is putting back the floorboards, Mrs. Bessermann stroking the pieces of dirt from Cesia’s hair. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

Taylor stroked its head gently and it settled. Beauty Queens 2011-05-24T00:00:00Z

A mile above the finish line, he finally called on them to take up the stroke rate. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Then I see her hand reach out, with its short, smooth fingers, and stroke him. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

When we were allowed back in the room, a woman said: “Looks like a stroke to me.” Black Boy 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

One day he was there, the next—a stroke, and he was gone. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

But her son did not miss a stroke as he shoveled the peaches from the can to his mouth with extraordinary speed and endurance. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

His first day of middle school, in front of everybody, he mixed up the strokes of his own name. Typical American 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

The bonobo looked alarmed, so I held his hand and stroked his scabby forehead. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

And in those last two hundred yards, in an extraordinary burst of speed, rowing at forty strokes per minute, pounding the water into a froth, Washington passed California. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

If it became a sacrament, Ben felt that he would be a high priest, a cardinal of the upward stroke, a pope of wasted seed. The Great Santini 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

Who even now could walk freely into his room if she wanted to and smell his clothes, stroke his shoes, and lay her head on the very spot where he had lain his. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

Emily gently stroked the golden hare necklace, trying to mask her excitement as best as she could, but inside she was jumping up and down. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

Ulbrickson put Don Coy, one of two substitute oarsmen who had made the trip, in at the critical stroke position. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Miriam, stroking Jacob’s small back, looked from her husband to Michelangelo. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

Without a word, he sat down before us and opened his book, leafing through the pages and stroking his beard. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

Screeching softly, he stroked my face, pulled my lips with his fingers to get them to talk. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Count Olaf reached out one of his spidery hands and stroked Violet on the chin, looking deep into her eyes. The Bad Beginning 1999-08-25T00:00:00Z

His mother, always ready with food and milk and a soft hand to stroke Salva’s head. A Long Walk to Water 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

Meggie stroked its binding as she always did before opening a book. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Tears streamed down Chase's face, and I dropped to my own knees to stroke his hair. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

Reb Saunders sat quietly, stroking his beard with his right hand. The Chosen 1967-04-28T00:00:00Z

“Will Grandpa really be all right? Is he safe from more strokes?” Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

Gently, he began stroking her, moving his hand up under her nightgown. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

Occasionally, when the gambling instinct got the better of him, he’d try to turn around and administer one swift disciplinary stroke, and then turn back again in time to smile before the camera went off. Cheaper by the Dozen 1948-01-01T00:00:00Z

She speaks without need or even room for response, so I simply hold her and stroke her hair. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

Gently he stroked her cheek and quickly disappeared from the disappointed woman into the bamboo wood. Siddhartha 1922-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mamá asked, leaning over to stroke my hair and lift my chin up. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

In order not to appear fumbling, people said, “Yes, baas,” “Yes, madam” to everything the white clerks said; thus, with the stroke of a pen, a man’s future was determined, his destiny altered. Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

“He’s not going to die. It was just a little stroke, that’s all. He was breathing fine when they carried him out.” The Pigman 1968-10-12T00:00:00Z

Then her hand drifted up to stroke the feathers at Vola’s neck. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

It felt like the darkness was stroking beneath my chin with a beckoning finger, whispering to me to lean forward and know its secrets. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

He kept his hands smooth with a pumice stone, so that even though they were fishermen’s hands they felt good stroking her shoulders. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

“Show me your strokes. Together now. Low, high, low, low, high, low ...” Selmy took his simple supper out onto the queen’s terrace that night and ate it as the sun went down. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

In concert, without ever meeting each other’s eyes, they stroked the blades up and down, up and down. Sula 1973-11-01T00:00:00Z

Then she holds my hand, stroking my arm, while Haymitch fills her in on what happened with Gale. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

My grandfather, who had two strokes and still didn’t talk too much, was lying near by. Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Finally his father spoke, his big rough hand stroking his wife’s hair and his eyes downcast watching the motion. Bridge to Terabithia 1997-10-21T00:00:00Z

Silver oars propelled the craft, each stroke keeping time to the music of flutes and harps. Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen 2009-02-03T00:00:00Z

With slow, deliberate strokes, he began running his thumb over the crystal’s faces, once across each plane before rotating it and beginning again. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

The hand shifts awkwardly over my hair, and I remember my father stroking my hair when he kissed me goodnight, my mother touching my hair when she trimmed it with the scissors. Divergent 2011-04-25T00:00:00Z

With a few strokes back and forth, I can get rid of any evidence if the SIM come to our door. Before We Were Free 2002-08-13T00:00:00Z

His fingers brushed against her cheek as he stroked one auburn lock. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Apparently, the more you stroke and handle a falcon, the easier they are to train. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

She’ll stroke my cheek with her cool hands, sing quietly in my ear. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Still, with one hand, he stroked Gwenforte, and with the other he held the knife to her soft white throat. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

As she talked, her hand stroked the long lock of her mother’s hair. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

A fat red-faced man in check breeches and gaiters, who looked like a publican, was stroking her nose and feeding her with sugar. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story 1945-08-17T00:00:00Z

“Kind of dopey. Old dog. Maybe he had a stroke.” Travels with Charley in Search of America 1962-01-01T00:00:00Z

He strokes an imaginary beard, studying me for a very long time, then returns his attention to Broken Me-Blob No. 6. I'll Give You the Sun 2014-09-16T00:00:00Z

Less than four weeks later, on April 12, the president was dead of a massive stroke at the age of sixty-three. Big Science 2015-07-07T00:00:00Z

The ghost would appear and stroke the cookies. Ophie's Ghosts 2021-05-18T00:00:00Z

So every race is a balancing act, a series of delicate and deliberate adjustments of power on one hand and stroke rate on the other. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Genie jumped off the porch and headed around the side of the house to where Ernie was stroking the top of Samantha’s head and whispering in her ear like a weirdo. As Brave As You 2016-05-03T00:00:00Z

The California oars bent like bows with the strain, and for those ten strokes the boys from Cal held their position. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Ralph cradled the fish head with his two hands, stroking it with his thumbs. Typical American 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

Very slowly, with the hesitating gesture of one who reaches forward to stroke a shy and possibly rather dangerous bird, he put out his hand. Brave New World 1932-01-01T00:00:00Z

She strokes its wings and then releases it back into the air. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

As he has no children to play with, he befriends the wild rabbits, offering them food and stroking their fur until he can touch their twitching noses. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

Lost in thought, he stroked its long, bent nose. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

I played along, while he stroked the shoulder of who I figured was his girlfriend. The Boy in the Black Suit 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

You whispered to Kutti and stroked him until he was calmer. The Bridge Home 2019-02-05T00:00:00Z

I tiptoed over and sat beside him, stroking his fur and whispering his name. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

The doctor told Deborah a second stroke was almost always worse than the first. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

She scrunched up her face, her fingers idly stroking the horse’s nose. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

It was a little hand, a child’s hand, touching Nipper’s wing, stroking it. Wringer 1997-08-16T00:00:00Z

“What a stroke of luck that you should be in this Mark,” said Bigwig. Watership Down: A Novel 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

Far away, Lina saw a narrow gray line curving like a pencil stroke across a sweep of green. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

He didn’t feel in the least bit sleepy, and his mind was still dwelling helplessly on the thought of Alice’s face, and what it might be like to stroke it or kiss it. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

This was the same spot he had been at a thousand strokes earlier. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

I took my hand from underneath his and stroked his shoulder. Missing May 1992-03-01T00:00:00Z

On the walk down, his fingertips stroked the small of my back ever so lightly, as though he meant to brush off a fleck of lint. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

“To keep it in good condition, you should brush fifty strokes every night.” Homesick 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

The old man had barely said anything since his stroke, but occasionally he’d blurt out random boleros from back in the day. Shadowshaper 2015-06-30T00:00:00Z

He turned it in his hands to look at Nipper’s name in broad marker strokes. Wringer 1997-08-16T00:00:00Z

I took my soaking brush in hand, stroked my gold cake, and a cat streaked out on my paper in one lightning stroke, whiskers, tail, meow and all! How the García Girls Lost Their Accents 1991-01-04T00:00:00Z

His father took off the man's head with a single sure stroke. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

She cannot fall asleep without stroking her mother’s belly. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

Finally Hatsue’s father began to pace and scratch his head and then to rub his chin, long strokes. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

With a few strokes Frodo brought the boat back to the bank, and Sam was able to scramble out, wet as a water-rat. The Fellowship of the Ring 1954-07-29T00:00:00Z

“Hey there,” he murmured, stroking the long face, the silky mane. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

His stroke gone amiss, the steward backed away. Crispin: The Cross of Lead 2002-06-01T00:00:00Z

His face remained fixed in an expression of polite indifference, but the finger that had been absently stroking his cheek now edged to his crooked nose. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

How could the American “I,” assuredly wearing a hat like the Chinese, have only three strokes, the middle so straight? The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

The firewood detail was an extraordinary stroke of good luck. Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West 2013-03-26T00:00:00Z

I lean back against the trunk of my tree, one finger gingerly stroking the sandpaper surface of my tongue, as I assess my options. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

But he allowed Beregond to handle his head gently and stroke his great flanks. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

And soon enough, with a few quick strokes, she discovers a whole community of train riders and their descendants. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

I'd set the alarm for four and was pulling on my socks when he rolled over and lightly stroked my back. Ask the Passengers 2012-10-23T00:00:00Z

“It was smoking when we got home,” said Perilee, slowly stroking her burgeoning middle. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

And Ran Laurie handled the stroke oar an awful lot like Don Hume. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I film Phil as he swims, capturing his grace, how his smooth strokes barely ripple the surface. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

To be stroked into his elite club, just as the others had been. Scythe 2016-11-22T00:00:00Z

Another brushed Mr. Norton's white hair away from his forehead and stroked it, smiling vacantly. Invisible Man 1952-01-01T00:00:00Z

He’d reach a hand out to stroke her palm, only to see it batted away. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

I shivered at the recollection of his killer’s fingers stroking my throat. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

Baba stopped rowing and reached over to stroke the cub’s fur with his big hand. Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 1997-06-26T00:00:00Z

The marten slept while Dustfinger’s hands restlessly stroked his fur, passing over it again and again. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

He annulled the registrations with a stroke of the pen. One Hundred Years of Solitude 1967-05-30T00:00:00Z

Barbarossa stroked his chin and angrily dropped his hands when he realized it was bare and beardless. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

Mr. Dalton asked, stroking the cat’s fur and smiling. Native Son 1940-03-01T00:00:00Z

Florida was stroking the birds, whispering, “There, there, it’s okay.” Ruby Holler 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z

When I saw his startled eyes at my breasts, I slashed him across the face and on the second stroke cut off his head. The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

For five or six strokes, the bows of the two boats contested for the lead, back and forth like the heads of racehorses coming down the stretch. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He hadn’t had that many strokes of good luck in his life, but Joaquin knew he had gotten lucky by not having any siblings. Far from the Tree 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

He strokes his beard, transporting flecks of clay from his hand to it. I'll Give You the Sun 2014-09-16T00:00:00Z

Mamá sat on his left side, stroking his gray hair and crying. Breaking Through 2001-08-27T00:00:00Z

BaiMa sliced through the air, the wind making Pinmei’s braid a stroke of black ink on the paper white of the sky. When the Sea Turned to Silver 2016-10-04T00:00:00Z

In a single stroke, he had set the field on its modern foundations. The Woman All Spies Fear 2021-10-19T00:00:00Z

But the nighttime Calliope only stroked the hair, or tasted it. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

She turned the alethiometer over and over, her fingers stroking the heavy gold and the smooth crystal and the knurled wheels they knew so well. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

I stroked his back gently, soothing him, chasing away the nightmare. The Old Willis Place 2004-09-20T00:00:00Z

Tatterfell strokes my hair briefly, as though I am a drowsy cat, and then returns to the task of sorting my dresses. The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

He stroked the smooth skin of her wrists. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked her face, tracing the curve of her ears, running a finger gently around her mouth. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Robert Hooke was born on the stroke of noon on 18 July 1635, seven years before Galileo Galilei died. The Scientists 2003-10-21T00:00:00Z

Coraline reached down and stroked the back of its head and neck. Coraline 2002-02-24T00:00:00Z

She paused before it, and then, with one violent, diagonal stroke, ripped away more than half of it and let it fall to the floor. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

It also helped that he was strikingly good- looking and built like the oarsman he had been, the former stroke oar of a Washington crew that had won national championships in 1924 and 1926. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

She reached out a finger, stroked him above his left eyebrow. American Gods 2011-06-21T00:00:00Z

A tiny cool hand rested on her hot one and stroked it timidly. Lyddie 1991-02-01T00:00:00Z

Sometimes she was smelling a blossom or stroking its petals. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

First time I really have him to myself—first time I can hug him, nobody looking, just squeeze his thin body, pat his head, stroke his ears. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

She walked a few paces away and faced the booth, one hand on her hip and one stroking her chin. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

At night, when the light was out, Dad would reach over into the bassinet and stroke the baby’s hand. Cheaper by the Dozen 1948-01-01T00:00:00Z

While Starry loads my suitcase into the Chevy Nova, Ma strokes my short hair. You Bring the Distant Near 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

Later in life, Johnson was reelected to the Senate, but soon afterward he died from a stroke, on July 31, 1875. Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z

I curl up next to her, stroke the thick cloth, and try to fall asleep, while Jay watches over us with his bright eyes. Born Behind Bars 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

The oarsmen felt ropes of kelp fouling their strokes with each pull. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World 1998-11-17T00:00:00Z

Then they went over a rise out of view, and she leaned down to stroke her baby’s hair, so beautiful beneath her hand, and went downstairs again. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

He wouldn’t go back to the stables until Evy had come down, given him a bit of apple or some sugar, stroked his nose and called him a good boy. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z

She saw that his hand had moved and was stroking the wide unadorned section of fabric, the section of the cloth that fell across the Singer’s shoulders. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ms. Parker puts on a cheerful face and strokes the air with her baton to signal for us to play. Muffled 2020-10-27T00:00:00Z

She pulled her sister’s head in close and stroked her hair gently. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

David picked him up and gently stroked his feathers. The Lions of Little Rock 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

I looked at the coffin and the marchers, listening to them, and yet realizing that I was listening to something within myself, and for a second I heard the shattering stroke of my heart. Invisible Man 1952-01-01T00:00:00Z

Spotting it on his daily rounds of the lab, Lawrence mutely obliterated it with the violent strokes of an eraser. Big Science 2015-07-07T00:00:00Z

In so far as he had time to remember it, he was not troubled by the fact that every word he murmured into the speakwrite, every stroke of his ink pencil, was a deliberate lie. 1984 1949-06-08T00:00:00Z

With slow, silent strokes I would glide until I reached the bend where the brook curved away from the castle. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

“That was a stroke of genius, Archie. That’s what I thought it was. Let him get beat up by a bunch of kids. Psychological—isn’t that what you’re always talking about?” The Chocolate War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

“I don t need to ask who that is!” the man said, continuing to pat and stroke the back of the infant he held. Son 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z

I whimper some more as he strokes my hair. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

Once he laid down his chopsticks and stroked Kurry on the head and talked to her. Homesick 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

"That would be a stroke of fortune, my lord," Jory said. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Then I just lay curled up on the bed, stroking the silken sheets, watching the sun set over the artificial candy Capitol. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

Either way, Ulbrickson had to figure out who was going to stroke the boat when the boys raced for gold in forty-eight hours. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Then, in another unbelievable stroke of good luck for Booth and Herold, Dana ignored the news as old and unimportant. Chasing Lincoln's Killer 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

To make up for it, he paints with even heavier strokes, the impasto thick and thicker. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

The second stroke was worse than the first and this was probably because Mr Coombes was well practised and had a splendid aim. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroke the edge of the machine softly, then push two buttons. Out of My Mind 2010-03-09T00:00:00Z

“Settle down, settle down, now,” Stella whispered, stroking the dog’s back. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

"With a stroke, you'd make me one of the greatest lords in the realm. Not that I'm ungrateful, my lord, but—why?" A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

I wondered if Grams snake bite had anything to do with her stroke, and if Gramps felt guilty for whizzing off the highway and stopping at that river. Walk Two Moons 1994-06-30T00:00:00Z

The sound was like the beating of a great slow heart, and the oars moved at every stroke, a hundred men pulling as one. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Hazelle strokes his hair and whispers something while my mother and Prim go through their meager store of painkillers, the kind usually accessible only to doctors. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

He wanted to see where the power lay, and a lower stroke was likely to reveal that. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

She laughed and stroked his jaw with a finger, reveling in how his eyelids fluttered close. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

Rav Gershenson stroked his pointed beard with his right hand, then asked me for the third time if I was satisfied with what the commentary said. The Chosen 1967-04-28T00:00:00Z

With small precise strokes she traced the contours of her mouth and clicked the tube shut. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

The dog sniffed for a moment, whined, sidled toward him and allowed him to stroke her head and ears and licked his palm and lay down. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

“Exactly,” I said, using long strokes to comb through my warm, clean hair. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

I stroked my cheek, but that didn’t help, either. Before We Were Free 2002-08-13T00:00:00Z

Henry shouted come on or Dr. Finch would have a stroke. Go Set a Watchman: A Novel 2015-07-14T00:00:00Z

As much as I’ve craved your lost, small body, I want you now to stop stroking my inner arms at night with your fingertips. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

Usually there were so many calls at the stroke of six-thirty that the overlap would send half of them straight to voicemail. Zeitoun 2009-07-15T00:00:00Z

Rishi tucked his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out and stroke her cheek. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

A car swept by, and its headlights stroked the far wall, stretching out the shadows, bringing them to life. City of the Plague God 2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

I drew your head onto my lap and stroked your brow. The Bridge Home 2019-02-05T00:00:00Z

And then Mia was there, sitting at her bedside, stroking her back. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

“I know, sweetie,” Mama said, stroking her hair. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

It was trembling, so Lyddie relaxed her fingers and began to stroke. Lyddie 1991-02-01T00:00:00Z

Then he began slowly stroking her hand, running his fingers along hers. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

The current carried them slightly downstream, Dicey’s strokes carried them across, the smooth water eased their passage. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

Penn’s stroke man, Lloyd Saxton, watching the bow of the Husky Clipper coming up behind him, raised his beat to a killing forty-one. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

‘An impressive number of guests,” she would observe, stroking with her finger the misplaced faces that had surrounded us. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

Momma sat me next to her at the table during the dinner as she always did, stroking my hair like a favorite pet. Dread Nation 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z

Though I’m hurrying, I take a couple of seconds to stroke on cherry lip gloss and pink eye shadow, and comb my hair. Rules 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

Jon reached to shoo the bird away but ended up stroking its feathers. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

Since both Levi and Pi seem determined for this to happen, I lower my right hand and, with the tips of my fingers, stroke Pi’s head 3 times. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

“You’ll feel better soon,” said a woman who was stroking her face and pushing away the locks of damp hair that hid her eyes. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

She felt the dull thump of her mother’s heartbeat, the lightness of her mother’s breath on her hair, the gentle touch of her mother’s hands stroking down the length of her back. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

They have long ceased to fear the might of Gondor, and they have allied them with the Enemy, and now make a heavy stroke in his cause. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

My thumbs stroke the soft skin of the young woman's hands. How It Went Down 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

Again my uncle paused to stroke his mustache and again I nodded. Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z

But quite the opposite results were achieved, as the dancers danced themselves to utter exhaustion, and one by one they began to expire from heart attacks, strokes, and complete organ failure. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

Charlie had been slowly stroking his mother's hair, desperately hoping that she would open her eyes. Just Mercy 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

With its sinuous trunk it stroked the huge corpse; then it reached up, broke some leafy branches with a snap, and draped them over the mass of tom thick flesh. The Giver 1993-04-01T00:00:00Z

Then, slowly, the varsity’s bow fell back to the six seat, the seven seat, the stroke seat, and finally the coxswain’s seat. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Time and again the students on the ferry called out for Washington to “take it up,” to raise the stroke and put California away. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

His hands are always touching me, stroking my hair, my neck, my cheek, my shoulder; when they creep lower and his body moves closer, I duck away, find an excuse to leave. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

She looks up at him, lifting her hand to stroke his cheek. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

Faraday had told them that the great bronze doors to the assembly room would open promptly at seven a.m., and the scythes would be dismissed at the stroke of seven p.m. Scythe 2016-11-22T00:00:00Z

They would leave the starting line with just enough of a surge to get some momentum behind the boat but then drop immediately to a low stroke rate of twenty-eight or twenty-nine. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

And, critically, the higher the stroke rate, the harder it is to keep all the many individual movements of the crew synchronized. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The stroke rate jumped to thirty-six, then thirty-seven. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“There is no need to worry. Jewel is an experienced teacher,” Kaisa said, stroking the black mare’s neck. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

He leaned an elbow upon the large podium, and then the hand that was stroking the beard began to play with an earlock. The Chosen 1967-04-28T00:00:00Z

In May he starts loading his brush again, making thicker, fuller strokes. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

I gently stroked it with my index finger, picturing it asleep and peaceful. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

It was all over town about Granny’s stroke. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

“Gran’s pastor said you just have to have faith”—my hand shot out and stroked Fig’s gray coat—“and then everything will be okay. But I’m starting to think that’s a lie.” Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence 2022-03-22T00:00:00Z

She settled into Albert’s lap, and he gently stroked the back of her neck. The Marvels 2015-09-15T00:00:00Z

It was a surprising stroke of good luck. Death on the River of Doubt 2017-01-03T00:00:00Z

Tired, hungry still, and frightened, she stroked the scrap of cloth in her pocket, and waited for the next round of accusations. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

The morning was clear and bright, with a few thin, high clouds barely clinging to existence, accidental brush strokes on a blue canvas. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

They had not raised their stroke rate a bit. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“Come on, just forget him!” she said quietly, She slowly stretched out her hand and stroked Prosper's face. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

After a few strokes, I switched hands and kept going. Lost Boy, Lost Girl 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

You held Marapachi close to your chest and stroked her wooden head. The Bridge Home 2019-02-05T00:00:00Z

“If it did”—Catherine said between strokes—’’life might be much simpler.” A Farewell To Arms 1929-09-02T00:00:00Z

He stroked his beard with a hand as blue and delicate as a bird. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

Standing now in the moonlight, Gabe stroked the paddle, feeling the carved names, and wondered if perhaps Trademaster had felt the sudden shift. Son 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z

He was fast asleep; after the stroke he sometimes nodded off in the middle of things. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

Soon Todd was back, drinking a beer and relaxing again on the porch, his hand stroking the rescued dogs matted fur. Zeitoun 2009-07-15T00:00:00Z

Whether or not the wily Mr Coombes had chalked the cane beforehand and had thus made an aiming mark on my grey flannel shorts after the first stroke, I do not know. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

He had spoken with delight, but Vasudeva just smiled radiantly at him and nodded his agreement He stroked Siddhartha’s shoulder and returned to his work. Siddhartha 1922-01-01T00:00:00Z

Lightly, her fingers stroked his shoulder blades; quietly they plucked the long hair scruffing his neck. The Milagro Beanfield War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

Zooey put out a hand and stroked Bloomberg’s arched back, once, twice, then quit, and got up from the coffee table and meandered across the room to the piano. Franny and Zooey 1961-09-14T00:00:00Z

The clock struck nine deliberate strokes and they were swallowed up. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

I took Gus’s hand, stroking circles around the space between his thumb and forefinger. The Fault in Our Stars 2012-01-10T00:00:00Z

“I cannot swim a stroke, nor could anyone else on this ship, I warrant, except Nat who was bom on the water. Where in England could they have taught you a thing like that?” The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958-12-01T00:00:00Z

In fact, he was staring at a balding spot on his father’s head, which he suddenly wanted to stroke. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

When he stroked his mustache like that, it meant he was thinking and choosing his words with care. Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z

Dr. Darwin was now in a wheelchair, Bessy was stuck in a fog, and Josiah was sinking from either a stroke or a degenerative neurological disease. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

In the last twenty strokes, and particularly in the final twelve gorgeous strokes, they simply powered past the British boat, decisively and unambiguously. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

But it’s not like me swimming, the rhythmic strokes, the even pace. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

“Take your pencil and we’ll lighten the strokes here, and bend them just a bit, since light is bent when it enters the water. Now, follow my hand.” Okay for Now 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

“Which should I tell?” he asked, stroking his chin with his fingers. The Ugly One 2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

Then she pulled Gwenforte’s head into her lap and began stroking her long copper blaze. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

“I know you are the best knight in the world, but be careful ’ow you fight in a wrong quarrel God might strike a stroke for justice, Sir Lancelot after all.” The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

Afraid to untie or untape her sister for fear of incurring—a word which here means “bringing about”—Count Olaf’s wrath, Violet stroked Sunny’s hair and murmured that everything was all right. The Bad Beginning 1999-08-25T00:00:00Z

I stroked her soft back and head as gently as I could. Out of My Mind 2010-03-09T00:00:00Z

She rubbed his ears and stroked his neck, but her mind wasn’t on him. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

Suddenly, Mama took hold of Hanako’s braid and started stroking it. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

Some places were starting to wear smooth where I always stroked them with my thumb. Made You Up 2015-05-19T00:00:00Z

I stroked his back, soothing him as if he were Nero. The Old Willis Place 2004-09-20T00:00:00Z

She reaches over again to stroke my head, and this time I don’t pull away. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

Peeta crouches down on the other side of her and strokes her hair. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

My mother's hand strokes my cheek and I don't push it away as I would in wakefulness, never wanting her to know how much I crave that gentle touch. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

My hand began to move in short, scratchy strokes. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

She stroked his limp white hair and felt his brow. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

He reached out and stroked her hair, and she could feel an icy chill emanating from his hand. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

The next year, 1924, Washington returned, with a young Al Ulbrickson rowing at stroke, and won the varsity race again, decisively this time. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“In fact, everything is much better. It was really a stroke of luck that you were almost murdered by that girl. Now the deal can go through perfectly.” Catch-22 1961-11-10T00:00:00Z

Within three strokes he knew how tired he was—his whole body felt weak and sore from the beating he’d taken in the rapids. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

Though the old man lay upstairs, after a second stroke, and lingered, giving no trouble. I'm the King of the Castle 1970-09-03T00:00:00Z

He turned it over and around and stroked its smooth finish. A Single Shard 2001-04-23T00:00:00Z

At the beginning of the stroke, the “catch,” he dropped the blade of his oar into the water and leaned his torso back hard, toward the bow, keeping his back ramrod straight. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

How I stroke a spot on my left cheek whenever I’m feeling scared or lonely? Before We Were Free 2002-08-13T00:00:00Z

Ash dawdled behind, stroking the horse’s nose, hoping her stepmother would forget about her. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

I tiptoed over to my school dress and stroked it for a long time. Tasting the Sky 2007-02-20T00:00:00Z

The clock struck ten, loudly, and before the sound of the last stroke had died away Stuart saw two gleaming yellow eyes peering out from behind the sofa. Stuart Little 1945-10-17T00:00:00Z

By a stroke of luck he found an iron spike that had been thrown at Basil by one of the rats. Redwall 1986-10-23T00:00:00Z

The old man stroked his beard, and it shone very white in the starlight. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

My fingers stroke the silky braids my mother so carefully arranged. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

The last twenty strokes, Shorty Hunt wrote his parents the next day, were “the best I ever felt in any boat.” The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Alex stayed right by Rex’s side through the whole exam, holding him while the vet irrigated the wound and stroking his paw when the doctor injected the cut with anesthetic. Eleven 2014-01-06T00:00:00Z

For some time the three companions stood still and silent, troubled by this new stroke of ill fortune. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

Rhythmically, he reached out, each stroke taking him farther away from his island prison. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

Keene lifts the president’s head into her lap and calmly strokes his face. Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked the rope’s end and shook it gently. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

The sharp command felt like the cut of a whip stroke. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

I don’t remember if he slept near me—I was so tired— perhaps he has gone to find something to eat— Uncle stroked Salva’s head as if he were a baby. A Long Walk to Water 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

I was fourteen and didn’t know what a stroke was. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

Her fingers stroked the cracked, blackened skin on her chin. Salt to the Sea 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

Lyra felt Pantalaimon trembling and stroked him with her sore hands. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

The boy looked glum, but he stood up, stroked the dog, and scratched his legs. Copper Sun 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked the top of Wishbone’s wet head. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

Boomer wags his way into the kitchen, and I stroke his head as I eat. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

Malcolm was fighting now with every little fraction of his strength, digging the paddle deep, leaning into the stroke, heaving hard—and nursing the broken thing, which was finally coming apart. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

What was more satisfying than having Huang Taitai nod and pat my head when I had finished combing her hair one hundred strokes? The Joy Luck Club 1989-01-01T00:00:00Z

I finally put together the breathing—how to blow out all my air while under the surface, just how much to roll my head—and I’d stopped slapping the water with every stroke. The Miseducation of Cameron Post 2012-02-07T00:00:00Z

I show her the gym where I swim laps every morning and try, unsuccessfully, to master the butterfly stroke. We Are Okay 2017-02-14T00:00:00Z

The woman fingered the dents and stroked the scratched panels as though the rickshaw were alive. Rickshaw Girl 2007-02-01T00:00:00Z

The hand that wasn’t caught in mine stroked the soft fabric of the sofa cushions intently. The Rock and the River 2009-01-06T00:00:00Z

She was stroking Buckbeak, who was crunching up Sirius’s chicken bones. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 2000-07-08T00:00:00Z

At the first stroke of six, Searchlight lunged forward with such force that little Willy was almost thrown from the sled. Stone Fox 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

He reached out a hand and stroked Violet’s hair. The Bad Beginning 1999-08-25T00:00:00Z

In the first stroke of luck I’ve had all day, my English teacher actually seems to be an interesting human being. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

She walked toward me and stroked my hair as if checking to make sure I was real. Amal Unbound 2018-05-08T00:00:00Z

He sat her down and stroked her hair. The London Eye Mystery 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

“I wish that were true,” said Sam, stroking the downy head. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

It’s the arena, not rendered in Peeta’s precise strokes but in the rough lines of a man whose mind is occupied by other, far more complex things. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

I watched out of the corner of my eyes, but I never slackened the strokes of my chamois upon the brass. Black Boy 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

Nkiruka, her brightest student, shaded contours into the faces and, with a few strokes of her pencil, gave Gowon a snarl and His Excellency a grin. Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

Lyra held Pantalaimon tight and let Mrs. Coulter stroke her hair. The Golden Compass 1995-07-01T00:00:00Z

Far up above, like an answering signal, a harsh bell clanged a single stroke. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

She stroked the binding, passed her hand over the curved spine, and traced the letters on the jacket with her forefinger. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Several days after the accident, Angel sat in a corner of her bedroom, stroking her cat and staring silently into space. Forged by Fire 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

Kaede was whispering to her, stroking her hair back from her damp forehead. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

It was a thick reddish-brown color and in the inset panels you could see brush strokes. Homecoming 1981-01-01T00:00:00Z

I wondered if she’d brushed her hair a hundred strokes every day. The Secret Life of Bees 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

She stood outside the mullioned window, stroked the gryphon’s sleek feathered head, and suffered a pang of absurd envy. Strange the Dreamer 2017-03-28T00:00:00Z

This was, she told herself, the broad strokes of what she had planned out all those years ago. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

But as Penn’s strokes grew more frequent, they began inevitably to grow shorter. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

As the first stroke landed and the pistol-crack sounded, I was thrown forward so violently that if my fingers hadn’t been touching the carpet, I think I would have fallen flat on my face. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

Afterward, he comes back into his own body in increments—his knees, still dug into the mattress and shaking; his stomach, slick and sticky; his hands, twisted up in Henry’s hair, stroking it gently. Red, White & Royal Blue 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

“Ermine,” he tells me as I stroke the white sleeve. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

Esteban unfastened his broad leather belt and she stepped back, but he grabbed her with a single stroke of his hand. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

The speed of a racing shell is determined primarily by two factors: the power produced by the combined strokes of the oars, and the stroke rate, the number of strokes the crew takes each minute. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The stroke sits directly in front of and face-to-face with the coxswain, who faces the bow and steers the shell. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

You may have a hemispherical stroke, in which one whole side of the body is paralyzed, which is invariably fatal in a case of Ebola. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

There was a nervous meanness in these long twigs that made us long for the steady stroke of a strap or the firm but honest slap of a hairbrush. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

He fixed his eyes on the back of Hume’s neck and focused his mind on the simple, cruel necessity of taking the next stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He reached up and stroked her hair, and said, “You have still not paid for your first wish.” Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Harding served two years before dying unexpectedly of a stroke. Blink 2005-01-11T00:00:00Z

I sigh and stroke the green fabric of the sari on the bed. You Bring the Distant Near 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

The hall clock began chiming, and she counted twelve strokes before it fell silent. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

But aboard Old Nero, Roger quickly found that his freewheeling rowing style was more hindrance than help when it came to mastering the racing stroke that Tom Bolles and Al Ulbrickson taught in the 1930s. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Gently, carefully, with a stroking softness that was nearly pity, Beowulf put his hands about Her neck, and strangled Her. Beowulf: A New Telling 1968-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then the boat sprang forward, and the boys were away—already a stroke and a half behind in the race of their lives. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

It got so bad that he had to be stroking her all the time or she’d start whining piteously until Osbert shouted from the other room Will someone make that dog shut up! How I Live Now 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

I touch it tentatively, and then stroke it. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

She stroked the knob with the thumb of her right hand while she ran her left one over Aunt Jimmy’s body. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mo tenderly stroked the bridge of her nose. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

It was a while before the last stroke ceased vibrating. The Sound and the Fury 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Oh, Nurse, don’t be against him! Come and stroke him!” Tiger, Tiger 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z

She lifts her head and strokes my cheek. What the Night Sings 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

Sweetie Pie stroked Winn-Dixie’s head so long and serious that his eyes drooped half closed and drool came out of the side of his mouth. Because of Winn-Dixie 2000-03-01T00:00:00Z

You had to use the lightest stroke, the very lightest. Okay for Now 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

He stroked the red cover with a finger and then touched the pages inside. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

During those few minutes, each of them would take more than three hundred strokes. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I remember stroking its striped feathers, so smooth they were waterlike, as my father held its limp body. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

She stroked his arm, and then kissed him. The Things They Carried 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

“I never realized it would he so simple,” said the king, stroking his beard and smiling broadly. The Phantom Tollbooth 1961-09-01T00:00:00Z

The Pandas fur he had stroked so gently? Mary Poppins 1962-10-27T00:00:00Z

The goblin stroked the sword, and his black eyes roved from Harry to Hermione to Ron and then back again. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2007-07-21T00:00:00Z

He had opened up the game, and the strokes from then on would have to be direct. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z

As summer neared, my mother suffered yet another stroke of paralysis and again I had to watch her suffer, listen to her groans, powerless to help. Black Boy 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

His fingers had left a little soot on his face when he stroked his scar. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Don Hume, Washington’s stroke, was just a few days out of the infirmary and still recovering from severe tonsillitis, but you wouldn’t have known it by watching the race. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

When she finally falls silent, I continue to stroke her, running my hands gently over her hair, her shoulders, her arms, her hips. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

She wrapped her arms around Bo and gently stroked his hair, which was already growing blonde at the roots. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

The storm had weakened some and the sea’s violent chop died down, but the idea of rowing another stroke, even in a perfectly calm sea, was unimaginable now. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

Marco looks down, surprised to find that he has been holding his right hand in his left, unconsciously stroking the empty space where a ring was once burned into his skin. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

He expected the bear to stop when it reached the shoreline, but the great white animal waded into the water and swam with powerful strokes out into the bay toward the open ocean. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

His father, too, had been a strawberry farmer before dying of a stroke in ’44. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

With short, brisk strokes she evens the broken nail on her left thumb. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Was it out of politeness that this writer left off strokes the way a Chinese has to write her own name small and crooked? The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

He drew pictures for her as they waited for a strike, showed her how to draw an elephant in one stroke without ever lifting the pen off the paper. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

I started to worry that maybe he was having a heart attack or a stroke or something, but before I voiced my concerns, I noticed something at my feet right next to my backpack. Challenger Deep 2015-04-15T00:00:00Z

But since her stroke, Anthony’s doctors had advised her to ease up on her hectic schedule. Votes for Women! 2018-02-13T00:00:00Z

I was experiencing, he said, a series of tiny, nearly imperceptible strokes. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

I saw them walking farther and farther away; Mother was stroking my sister’s blond hair, as if to protect her. Night 1955-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ishmael kept to the middle of the group, swimming and keeping low, breast- stroking, and tried to think of himself as a dead marine floating harmlessly in Betio’s lagoon, a corpse borne by the current. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

“Aunt Gladys is doing well after her stroke. She told me some great stories about your mom.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

Marco lifts his hand to brush a stray curl away from Celia’s face, tucking it behind her ear and stroking her cheek with his fingertips. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

He would stroke the pages, and if he closed his eyes at the same time he would be home again. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

But the two mounts were patiently blundering together, and the two knights had simultaneously decided on the sweeping stroke. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

Lancelot looked on the table, and moved his hand in a gesture to stroke the cloth. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

Something brushed the back of his neck like the stroke of a finger. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

Billy was on the green in seven strokes, and it was his turn to putt. Slaughterhouse-Five 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z

She lifted her hand to stroke his thin one, but thought better of it She squatted cm her hams. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

His mother’s face was all creases and lines of worry, and he reached out to stroke it. Anger Is a Gift 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

Naomi took a step toward the sleeping dog, and for a moment she thought about stroking his floppy ears, but she did not want to disturb him. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

Adam is like a moon, standing off to the side, stroking his chin. If I Stay 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Through the rest of January and into February, rowing six days a week now, rowing from quarter slides and half slides, taking shorter strokes to focus on technique. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Dri followed, and he started talking and crying, and she nodded and stroked his face. Adrift 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

‘If you’re right in your reckoning, we haven’t dealt with a tithe of them yet. But it’s dark now. I think the next stroke must wait until morning. Then we must call on the Chief.’ The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

Every time I stroke his fur, a little more of my stress melts away. A Soft Place to Land 2021-09-14T00:00:00Z

He watched the swimmers train, studying their strokes and regimen, longing to be part of it himself. Zeitoun 2009-07-15T00:00:00Z

I pictured him standing in there among his colleagues snorting with satisfaction at every stinging stroke. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

Which portion of my mind, of my memory, had I lost to a minuscule stroke while I was asleep? Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

So he didn’t kill the dog with one stroke as he had intended. Their Eyes Were Watching God 1937-09-18T00:00:00Z

“Sire, this is a bold stroke, but the risk—” The Night s Watch takes no part. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

Ranofer admired his handiwork a moment, then changed the kneeling man to a sitting woman, obliterated the stroke and replaced it with a bread loaf. The Golden Goblet 1961-04-24T00:00:00Z

A stroke is when an artery in the brain breaks and blood pours out, my dad says. Crash 1996-03-19T00:00:00Z

He was brought in right after his first embolic stroke at work. They Both Die at the End 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

I found Frightful, untied her, stroked her creamy breast feathers, and spoke to her. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

“None of us three girls can swim a single stroke.” James and the Giant Peach 1961-11-01T00:00:00Z

“They are calling it a massive stroke. We’re lucky he didn’t die. But he’s still not conscious yet, so we don’t know how it has affected him.” Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

It took several strokes to regain the place she had lost, and when she got there, the other side had nearly won, for Kate’s ball was the last but one and lay near the stake. Little Women 1868-01-01T00:00:00Z

I hear clumsy paddle strokes and realize someone must be approaching in a canoe. Blood on the River 2006-05-04T00:00:00Z

He paused again, still stroking his lip absentmindedly. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

But she came forward aiming a stroke with her long stick, and whispered: ‘Down in the sty and snore among the rest!’ The Odyssey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

"You don't want to lose your balance, lliat's good. Now pivot as you deliver the stroke, get all your weight behind the blade." A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Mamá reached out and pulled Lupita to her, stroking her hair. Lupita Mañana 1981-03-21T00:00:00Z

Her father stroked her hair as the firelight flickered over the scar at his temple. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

He stroked her hair and looked into her eyes. Beauty Queens 2011-05-24T00:00:00Z

He was always stroking his stomach or his chest. The Catcher in the Rye 1951-07-16T00:00:00Z

I nodded my head and stroked his arm. Missing May 1992-03-01T00:00:00Z

The faces of the Sleer nuzzled the air about Jack tentatively, as if they wanted to stroke or caress him. The Graveyard Book 2008-09-30T00:00:00Z

The Cal frosh fairly skimmed over the water, their oars coming well clear of the waves between strokes and digging cleanly into them on the catch at the beginning of each stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I sat on the bed as she stroked my hair, cooing endearments in Greek. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

The business community and a good number of alumni very much wanted to see the young Beck stroking the Washington varsity now. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

They raced over and gathered around Wishbone, stroking his back and patting his head. Wish 2016-08-30T00:00:00Z

After a few moments of watching, Ess unfroze and reached down to stroke one of the tight striped backs with two soft fingertips. Orphan Island 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

Ma just sighs then and starts stroking Shiloh’s head. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

His eyes were closed, his fingers wrapped around Mama’s hand, stroking her knuckles with his thumb. The Rock and the River 2009-01-06T00:00:00Z

Even though she could no longer feel it, I stroked Mattie’s forehead. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

Conant figured that recruiting Lawrence would eliminate with one stroke the two universities’ disparity in experimental physics. Big Science 2015-07-07T00:00:00Z

Bate took out a duck from his vest pocket and, holding her in his arm, stroked her breast until she was hypnotized and calm. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

She put down a hand to stroke it, and could feel how hard its heart was beating. Coraline 2002-02-24T00:00:00Z

I crouch by the trunk, my fingers stroking the bark, seeking a Braille code, a clue, a message on how to come back to life after my long undersnow dormancy. Speak 1999-10-01T00:00:00Z

After a moment, a venerable salmon rippled up; Medwyn stroked the jaws of the huge fish. The Book of Three 1964-03-12T00:00:00Z

He stroked her knees, just above the border of her embroidered socks. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

No, hug the cliff of Skylla, take your ship through on a racing stroke. The Odyssey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

Between strokes of the switch she would ask me where had I learned the dirty words and I could not tell her; and my inability to tell her made her furious. Black Boy 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then, in what was either a brilliant stroke of luck or a bit of disastrously poor timing, depending on whether you were rooting for the squirrel or the children, the doors swung open. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling 2011-01-25T00:00:00Z

John Brooke laughed then as he never dared to laugh afterward, and the derisive Scott smiled involuntarily as he heard the hearty peal, which put the finishing stroke to poor Meg’s woe. Little Women 1868-01-01T00:00:00Z

She flicked a lock of hair out of her face and he wondered what it might feel like to touch it, gently, as you might stroke a bird. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

Mr. Ram had a stroke, the kind that shuts everything down. Saints and Misfits 2017-06-13T00:00:00Z

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, stroking his hand through my hair. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

“Soldiers,” said his friend, fitting the word between strokes of the bell. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

Between strokes, they can hear the sea wind rattle the window. All the Light We Cannot See 2014-05-06T00:00:00Z

Laila watched her put her thumb into its mouth, just over the lower jaw, push it in, and, in one downward stroke, remove the gills and the entrails. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

“Us Clock Watchers have unyielding natures. When he approached me with mischief in his heart at the exact stroke of midnight, I couldn’t say no.” The Last Last-Day-of-Summer 2019-04-02T00:00:00Z

He takes Hassan’s hand first, strokes the palm with one hornlike finger­nail, round and round, round and round. The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

And then he stroked his whiskers and said, ‘All these are mine.’ Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

Hoping for relief, he would run out and plunge naked into the icy waters of the river until he couldn’t breathe, but then he would feel invisible hands stroking his legs. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

Four or five strokes into the race, Gordy Adam and Stub McMillin “washed out,” their oars popping out of the water before they had completed their pulls. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

But now, as though she hadn’t noticed Angeline’s remark at all, Ten Snow’s hand was stroking Omakayas’s arm and she was speaking. The Birchbark House 1999-07-21T00:00:00Z

At the stroke position was a fourth member of last year’s freshman crew: poker-faced Don Hume. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

In Connellsville, he walks behind him, puts his arms around him, and strokes his chest. Drama High 2013-09-26T00:00:00Z

Though Wello was stroking at the pirogue’s rear, the dug- out canoe was long enough that, lying on my back and staring at the stars, I felt like Otto and I were alone. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

He strokes his chin, deep in thought, before nodding. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

The stroke rate went up to thirty-eight, then almost immediately to forty. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Lady Isobel reached out and stroked her daughter’s cheek, answering, “No, my dear, you must look like a queen.” Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked his whiskers and muttered to himself. The Wild Robot 2016-04-05T00:00:00Z

We match each other stroke for stroke until I get a hit on her right arm. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

“That’s the easy bit,” I told him, stroking his neck fondly. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

I felt a hand in my hair, stroking me. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

To his right a war galley stroked serene against the rising sun; to his left, a battered old cog raced before a storm, her sails in rags. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

She stroked her hand across the oilcloth on the table. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

“Ally, how many kids your age use phrases like ‘unfortunate stroke of luck’?” Fish in a Tree 2015-02-05T00:00:00Z

Ulbrickson had instructed him to keep the stroke rate as low as he could for as long as he possibly could. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

And the answer came to Harry in one, sudden, glorious stroke of inspiration. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

It was razor-etched, with slashing parallel white lines for each stroke of every letter. The London Eye Mystery 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

After a couple of circular strokes on his midsection and his back, and some special attention to his feet and face, he’d duck under for a rinse and get out. Cheaper by the Dozen 1948-01-01T00:00:00Z

The cat rubbed against her knee, and as Meggie's fingers stroked its dirty fur an awful thought suddenly occurred to her. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

His arms ached, but he continued stroking, even as his mind wan dered. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

There would be just two black strokes —the bird. The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then he went for a paddle to practise his stroke. Stuart Little 1945-10-17T00:00:00Z

One of the younger kids ran forward, crying, and stroked Otto’s foot. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Mr. Burson didn’t look up from his book as he stroked a cat. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

When I came around, Erin was stroking my cheek, saying, “Wake up! Come on, Finley, wake up!” Boy21 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Without the slightest hesitation, Matt walked up to the chair and let the old man stroke his face with a paper-dry hand. The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then I shut my eyes and braced myself for the first stroke. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

I’m so happy, stroking the slick pages, seeing hundreds of squiggly marks. Ninth Ward 2010-08-16T00:00:00Z

For five full strokes, all seven boats stayed absolutely abreast of one another, their crews digging hard. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The skin round her neck's the softest thing I've ever stroked. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

“I’m sorry the fox got him, sir. It was a stroke of very bad luck.” Watership Down: A Novel 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

The stroke seemed to ease tension in the family too: Deborah’s brothers began calling every day to see how she was doing, and Zakariyya even said he wanted to visit. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

I stroke the butterfly's wings with the tip of a finger. Born Behind Bars 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

Valmiki leaned back against the anthill and stroked his beard slowly. Aru Shah and the End of Time 2018-03-27T00:00:00Z

He slid back to give her room and stroked her hair. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked her hair, wondering what would happen to her. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

In lane four the Japanese fluttered rapidly out into the lead, whipping the water at nearly fifty strokes per minute with their short oars and short slides. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“You know about my stroke of bad luck.” Mississippi Trial, 1955 2002-05-27T00:00:00Z

Emily gently stroked the golden hare necklace, trying to mask her excitement as best as she could, but inside she was jumping up and down. Book Scavenger 2015-06-02T00:00:00Z

Carefully Rupa moved closer to Neel and reached out to stroke the tiny animal. Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

And, also like yesterday, he touched my face wordlessly — this time with the back of his cool hand, stroking once from my temple to my jaw — before he turned and walked away. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

She sat at the edge of the bed and called my name softly, gently, as she stroked my hair. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

Her mother stroked her hair and said, “Don’t worry, Ash, I’m here.” Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

I thought that maybe he was having a stroke. Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel 2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

He stroked his short beard with a trace of amusement. The Shakespeare Stealer 1998-05-01T00:00:00Z

I watched, fascinated, as one of her hands reached out to stroke the fabric, only to pull back at the last second. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

Lyra stirred and murmured, and he stroked her forehead and found it hot, like Alice’s face. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

He pastes uncooked pasta to cardboard, and leaves his signature in fat brush strokes below paintings. The Namesake 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

Very gently, she began stroking the soft fur along my back. The Witches 1983-10-27T00:00:00Z

She patted him with a shaking hand that steadied with every stroke across his head. Anya and the Nightingale 2020-11-10T00:00:00Z

He stroked the backs of her knees with his hands, then inched upward, under her skirt. Typical American 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

California made a move, starting to sprint, going up to forty strokes per minute and charging forward again, back into the lead. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I took one hand off the rope to stroke his nose. Dragonwings 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

Kabuo, beside him, was aware of his strength and of the facility with which he approached this problem; he made each stroke count, put his shoulders into each, and did not hurry his blows. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

Uncle Paul strokes my hair gently and smiles down at me. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

“Well, it was a odd thing, but when the animiles see us a-talkin’ they lay down, and when I went over to Bersicker he let me stroke his ears same as ever. Dracula 1897-05-26T00:00:00Z

He constantly paced the deck in the nude, staring out at the horizon line and stroking his beard. Hole in My Life 2002-03-26T00:00:00Z

Harry asked him in a low voice, moving forward to stroke the feathery head. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

‘The very last stroke. But to think that it should fall here, at the very door of Bag End! Among all my hopes and fears at least I never expected that.’ The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

My mother could see that I really wasn’t in one piece after all, so she listened quietly, stroking my hair as I talked, but gradually I could feel her stiffen. Homesick 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

What nobody knew: Lefty had had another stroke the week before. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

With the same hand that had held the rock, Vandara stroked the scar on her throat. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

The girl took the pencil and wrote surely; she did not leave out a single stroke. The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

Each tiny sign was perfectly formed, with little flags and short tails at the ends of each stroke, resting on invisible horizontal strings like pins perched on a clothesline. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

But his flashing spear never missed its stroke and the dreadful sound of cracking skulls was heard and the floor flowed with blood. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes 1942-01-01T00:00:00Z

My dad would have a stroke if he knew I’d driven Cade’s truck before; and driving right after a seizure was definitely a dangerous idea. 100 Sideways Miles 2014-09-02T00:00:00Z

She stroked my rough bark with her sleek head. Wishtree 2017-09-26T00:00:00Z

“It is well,” he said, stroking my hair. Nectar in a Sieve 1954-01-01T00:00:00Z

She sat down next to Sam and stroked his face. Kira-Kira 2004-02-01T00:00:00Z

Mo turned around and stroked the hair back from Meggie’s forehead. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

In the Washington boat, Don Hume was matching Berken- kamp’s stroke rate but making no progress in pulling even with him. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He had been stroke for the second eight recently, and though everyone had been kind, he thought he was happier taking the pace from someone else. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

The light played blue off his dark skin, and Jam patted his cheek, stroking a thumb over the razor of his cheekbone. Pet 2019-09-10T00:00:00Z

Lord Petyr stroked his pointed beard as he considered the matter. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

The style he developed soon proved to be in many ways superior to the traditional longer stroke taught at Eton. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story 1945-08-17T00:00:00Z

He stroked her forehead, and, with a woebegone expression on his face, asked if she needed anything? anything1?—he said it like that, twice. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

He suffered a stroke while alone at his home in Clanton, Alabama, managing to drag himself to the telephone, grab the cord, and pull the receiver off its cradle. While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

With quick expert strokes, she started painting her toenails. The Lemonade War 2007-04-23T00:00:00Z

With both boats rowing at the same rate, Hume’s stroke made all the difference. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I want to stroke that dirt from his hair. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

"It'll relax you, honey," she said, stroking the back of his neck, and he inhaled. The Contender 1967-01-01T00:00:00Z

His trembling hands ran through her hair and stroked her back and neck. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

And as a few strokes on the nose will make a puppy head shy, so a few rebuffs will make a boy shy all over. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

I combed my hair slowly over and over, feeling the teeth of the comb dig into my cheek at every stroke. The Bell Jar 1963-01-14T00:00:00Z

“It cut off oxygen to his brain. That’s what a stroke does.” Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

The last words cut like strokes of a lash. The Golden Goblet 1961-04-24T00:00:00Z

I listen to him breathe, and he strokes my fingers idly, the task at hand forgotten. Insurgent 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z

Today she gave its rim a gentle stroke before folding her hands in submission to Father’s will. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Settle down, it’s fine,” he said, stroking over to the side. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

I wasn't worth a decent stroke of work but it was more than that--I didn't want to leave Gatsby. The Great Gatsby 1925-04-10T00:00:00Z

Knots and tangles, Jaime thought, wishing he could cut through all of it with one swift stroke of his sword. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

When the handle from the icebox fell off, all the deweys got whipped, and in dry-eyed silence watched their own feet as they turned their behinds high up into the air for the stroke. Sula 1973-11-01T00:00:00Z

Then suddenly, without warning, Uglúk sprang forwards, and with two swift strokes swept the heads off two of his opponents. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

Sam plays with her hair, gathering it all to one side and stroking it, then twisting it up in a sloppy bun. Piecing Me Together 2017-02-14T00:00:00Z

I stared at that middle line and waited so long for its black center to resolve into tight strokes and dots that I forgot to pronounce it. The Woman Warrior 1976-01-01T00:00:00Z

The beer stroked a place deep under his heart and put all the feeling to sleep. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

He felt her breasts and grazed the waistband of her underwear, and she stroked his belly and chest and back. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

His thumbs stroked the length of my jaw, but even they stilled as I pulled back and turned away from him. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

We swam a few strokes and she reached out and held on to me. The Stranger 1989-03-13T00:00:00Z

Then, impromptu, he reached out and stroked the nose of Cinnamon, who was perched on Stargirl’s shoulder. Stargirl 2000-08-08T00:00:00Z

The girl stroked his head again, and the dog looked up at her with soft triangle eyes. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

“That was just because I know about those words, alone and lonely, that's all. It was just an unfortunate stroke of luck.” Fish in a Tree 2015-02-05T00:00:00Z

He continued looking at me, still stroking his lower lip. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

If we can rid ourselves of some of our chronic, degenerative diseases, and cancer, strokes, and coronaries, we might go on and on. The Lives of a Cell 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

A boat with both a very high stroke rate and very powerful strokes will beat a boat that can’t match it on both counts. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Not about the stroke and the rehab and all, just the good stuff. Crash 1996-03-19T00:00:00Z

Perdita came in behind Shed, taking off his ear with one stroke of her sword. Gregor the Overlander 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

He slashed her throat in a Van Gogh stroke that nearly removed her head from her spine. The Devil in the White City 2003-02-11T00:00:00Z

A boy'd be stroking those soft bare inches between her jeans and her top. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

She stroked the top of his head with her fingers and felt the odd sensation of his beard against her breasts. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

He stroked his flat, white cheek against the smoothness of her dress, looking at her beseechingly. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

Claire strokes my forehead, dozing, the slant of light through my panes growing golden, then dim, the afternoon passing. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

Slowly I swim to the shore, looking back with each stroke. Like Vanessa 2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

By the time the fourth stroke was delivered, my entire backside seemed to be going up in flames. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

The caseworker stroked my red curls and turned to Mrs. Pace. Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

She stops stroking Shiloh and turns on me. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

The bird looked up at me, and I placed my hand on his head and stroked it lightly. The Ugly One 2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

I bent down to stroke Jasper’s ear, in an agony of confusion. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

Green cards and visas instantly invalidated with a stroke of the presidential pen. Internment 2019-03-07T00:00:00Z

He stroked her shining hair, all set about with golden Dust, and waited. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

She turned it upside down, then stroked, with her index finger, the minuscule frozen folds of its robes. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 1997-06-26T00:00:00Z

In a stroke of luck, this key had still been hanging from the van’s ignition when I’d first discovered it. Ready Player One: A Novel 2011-08-16T00:00:00Z

Lancelot parried the stroke with his bough, and the knight’s sword stuck in the wood. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

Again came the blank of a pause: the clock struck eight strokes. Jane Eyre 1847-10-16T00:00:00Z

The whip was in his voice again, every word a stroke. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

I was watching my hand stroking and watching my face closing in against her. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

I always imagine her sitting in front of a mirror at night, counting strokes as she brushes her hair. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda 2015-03-25T00:00:00Z

Autumn stroked my face with her gummy hands, and unexpectedly, she poked her finger in my mouth, which was slightly open. Three Little Words: A Memoir 2007-12-27T00:00:00Z

She yielded to the stroke, and then heaved up the great bag of her belly high above Sam’s head. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

The stable master held the mother’s head and stroked her neck. Burning Blue 2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

“Go to sleep, Junie,” he says as he strokes my hair. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

Washington hadn’t managed that since 1926, when he himself stroked the Huskies to victory here. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He feels warm, and when I stroke him, I can feel places on his body where he has ticks. Shiloh 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked my wet hair softly, from the top of my head to my waist. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

From the corner of my eye, I saw my frightened cousins obediently practicing their first brush strokes. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents 1991-01-04T00:00:00Z

She closed her eyes and announced, while stroking my arm, “Wow, if I close my eyes, it’s like you’re white.” How Dare the Sun Rise 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

To achieve even a reasonably smooth and powerful stroke, they had to learn to execute a series of precisely timed and carefully coordinated moves. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

It’s just a softening, like the last comb stroke through the hair that makes it hold the conk. X: A Novel 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

The letter is dated three weeks ago, and from it they learn that Ashima’s grandmother has had a stroke, that her right side is permanently paralyzed, her mind dim. The Namesake 2003-09-01T00:00:00Z

When I didn’t respond to his hand, he grabbed mine and shook it, big strokes up and down. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

She kept stroking Matt’s face, his hair, his arms. The House of the Scorpion 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

I write my name inside the cover, concentrating on each stroke of each letter to block out Noah’s yawn, Lina’s complaints, and Madge’s groans. Muffled 2020-10-27T00:00:00Z

I stroked his head and kissed it, but held him at arm’s length as I took some broad leaves and cleaned his bottom as best I could. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

He strokes his short, brush mustache with his fingers, musing. In the Time of the Butterflies 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

So it was perhaps understandable that during Dr. Muller’s house calls we failed to mention the troubling anomaly of Lefty’s multiple strokes. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

But when I looked down to see what I had written it was not my small square hand-writing at all, it was long, and slanting, with curious pointed strokes. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

Before him to the north the cliff fell away sharply to the Kum River, a broad stroke of silver ribboning its way through the hills and plains. A Single Shard 2001-04-23T00:00:00Z

And suddenly upon the last stroke the Gate of Gondor broke. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

Mrs. Das listened attentively, stroking her hair with a small plastic brush that resembled an oval bed of nails, asking more questions, for yet another example. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

“But, you,” she said, stroking my cheek, “are my sweetest gift. The life surprise that soothed all my ills and gave me my greatest joys. I feel so blessed you are mine.” Ninth Ward 2010-08-16T00:00:00Z

“I love this book,” she said, stroking the cloth cover that was so much fancier than the $2 paperback she'd had. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

She kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek. Adrift 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

Slowly he reached out and stroked her gleaming black head. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

Don Hume on the port side and Joe Rantz on the starboard were setting the pace with long, slow, sweet, fluid strokes, and the boys on each side were falling in behind them flawlessly. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Shadow’s mount caracoled away from it, and Shadow stroked its neck and told it not to be afraid. American Gods 2011-06-21T00:00:00Z

Harry said, stroking her back as he carried her on his arm to one of the holes in the wall. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 2000-07-08T00:00:00Z

When I reach the end, Trub strokes his bushy beard and thinks for a moment. Dragons in a Bag 2018-10-23T00:00:00Z

I like to watch his hands as he works, making a blank page bloom with strokes of ink, adding touches of color to our previously black and yellowish book. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

The way that Zu seemed to stroke her ghost hair made me think she hadn’t had much say, either. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

So while the bow oarsman must be strong, like all the others, it’s most important that he or she be technically proficient: capable of pulling a perfect oar, stroke after stroke, without fail. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

They rowed with tremendous heart, though with a tendency to throw their heads dramatically back and forth with each stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He held her, stroked her hair, and with moist eyes assured her that she had nothing to worry about, certainly he would marry her, as he long had promised. The Devil in the White City 2003-02-11T00:00:00Z

Three strokes, four, and he would be under again. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

“Madder,” she said, stroking the deep red, one of her favorites. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

"What arc you doing here?" laughing, she stroked the chain. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Mama strokes my cheek with her finger before pressing the doorbell. Dragons in a Bag 2018-10-23T00:00:00Z

Up front Chuck Day, the number two man, was trying to finesse it, trying to keep the boat in perfect balance stroke after stroke even as Moch kept calling for more. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The next chapter began with an N. An animal with a furry tail sat perched in the angle between the second and third strokes of the letter. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Dorian picked one up and stroked its head. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

We swam in side by side, our strokes evenly matched. City of the Plague God 2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

She strokes my face with her worn hands. A Step from Heaven 2001-04-30T00:00:00Z

You killed my mother, who had a lion’s heart, and my sister, who laughed like the rain, and my father, who captured truth with a few strokes of a pen. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

These, in turn, are intercut with close-ups of the stroke oarsmen grimacing with effort as they rock rhythmically back and forth, leaning into the camera and then back away again. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

When they had done laughing, Simon stroked Ralph's arm shyly; and they had to laugh again. Lord of the Flies 1954-09-17T00:00:00Z

Barrabas was dying without any hurry, his eyes riveted on Clara, who stroked his ears and murmured words of comfort until finally, with a single rattle, the dog fell rigid at her feet. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

He slipped back into the water and began swimming again, taking long, even strokes, kicking and pushing along the mud; pulling himself forward. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

He put down his roll and reached over and took her gnarled hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. Jacob Have I Loved 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

His recent stroke had apparently only exacerbated this tendency. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

He reached out to stroke her hair, as though doing so might make him like it. Americanah 2013-05-14T00:00:00Z

She reached out and touched the dog’s head, stroking him gently. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

I felt brisk strokes of his brush across the toe of my shoe. Black Like Me 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

My hand strokes Mom’s arm; the other embraces Dad’s back. Black Brother, Black Brother 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

Sleep would take him between strokes of the paddle; it would stop him so that his arms would fall and the paddle would stop and lie in his lap. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

Matthias clutched the shield tightly, waiting for the stroke of one. Redwall 1986-10-23T00:00:00Z

She kept stroking my hands, and I couldn't think of anything to say. Just Mercy 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

My mother began to loosen my braids and brush my hair with long sweeping strokes. The Joy Luck Club 1989-01-01T00:00:00Z

Hesitantly she reached out and stroked the horse's neck, ran her fingers through the silver of her mane. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

When George began to watch the Washington oarsmen on the water, he quickly spotted inefficiencies and deficiencies in the mechanics of their stroke that no amount of fiddling with a skeleton could fix. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He strokes the skin above his cheekbones, squeezes shut his eyes, to feel what happens when the creases form, tries to visualize it. Farewell to Manzanar 1973-01-01T00:00:00Z

Perhaps Monet stood on the grass at the stroke of midnight and looked at the stars— neck bent backward, unsteady on his feet from the champagne. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroke Laika and whisper to her, “Do not run away.” 100 Sideways Miles 2014-09-02T00:00:00Z

Holding me to his chest, he strokes my hair and kisses the top of my head. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

She tried to stroke his head, but he pulled away. Eleven 2014-01-06T00:00:00Z

I was fourteen and didn’t know what a stroke was. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

Tom Yew slipped off her red panties and stroked the cressy hair there. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

He draws a switchblade quick as a flash and slices it through the air in front of me, three short, fast strokes. How It Went Down 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

She reaches her free hand out like she’s going to stroke my cheek, but then she folds it back in her lap. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

"He's the best of them. But watch him, he falls into a rhythm, delivering the same strokes in the same order each time he attacks." A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

Vetch marveled at the little creature, and once put up his hand to stroke it, but the otak snapped its sharp teeth at him. A Wizard of Earthsea 1968-11-01T00:00:00Z

Moch told Hume to ease the stroke rate back up to thirty-eight. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The woman’s hair curled in forty directions, beautiful, like it had just had its hundred strokes. The Secret Life of Bees 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

They untied their hawser, passing it through a drilled stone ring; then bent forward at the oars and caught the sea as one man, stroking. The Odyssey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

"The begonia is not well," she answers, stroking one plump bud near its stem. How It Went Down 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

She stroked the greyhound’s coat, from the copper blaze on her nose all the way down to the middle of her back. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

“Not all better. It takes a long time to recover from a stroke.” Crash 1996-03-19T00:00:00Z

Charles awakened on the stroke of four-thirty as surely as though the brass pendulum of the clock had nudged him. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

He strokes my face as the pain ebbs. Mockingjay 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z

And his hand stroked the inside of her thigh. Go Tell It on the Mountain 1953-05-18T00:00:00Z

She spun around behind me, did a butterfly stroke so our backs kissed and released, kissed and released. Tradition 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

He sat beside him and stroked his pale and tangled hair. The Road 2006-09-28T00:00:00Z

She softly strokes my hair and caresses my cheeks. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Shasta stroked its smooth-as-satin nose and said, "I wish you could talk, old fellow." The Horse and His Boy 1954-09-06T00:00:00Z

But he struck out fiercely, and after a few strokes began to breathe more easily. The Door in the Wall 1949-01-03T00:00:00Z

That same January 8, my grandfather suffered the first of his thirteen strokes. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

Kathy sat in the back seat, reaching forward, stroking her husband’s head. Zeitoun 2009-07-15T00:00:00Z

Ged's spirits lifted with the first lifting of the forty long oars, and the drumbeat that kept the stroke made a brave music to him. A Wizard of Earthsea 1968-11-01T00:00:00Z

Cassie’s dad was our new principal, hired from upstate after the old one had a stroke. Wintergirls 2009-03-19T00:00:00Z

If those two boats have the exact same power per stroke but one has a higher stroke rate, the one with the higher rate will pull ahead. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

In a stroke of good luck for Booth, for unknown reasons Samuel Mudd’s cousin George failed to ride into town to report the strangers to the cavalry. Chasing Lincoln's Killer 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

And at the sight of a kind face it does not lie down upon its back and kick up its heels playfully to be tickled and stroked. Native Son 1940-03-01T00:00:00Z

Immediately a hand stroked her hair, and when she looked around, dazed, she was gazing into her mother’s face. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Minli nodded and waved goodbye until the flowering trees looked like brush strokes of golden paint on the mountain. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

My fingers stroke the smooth ground, sliding easily across the top. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

Mama and Papa had told Laney that Mr. Jeet had had a stroke two years ago, which meant that he sounded and looked a little different than he used to. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

She stroked it, murmuring, “I have not touched silk in many year.” A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

Before long, even the eastern schools were taking note of the Conibear stroke, trying to figure out how something so unorthodox could be so successful. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I replace the giraffe’s neck poultice, cold-soak a camel for a suspected hoof abscess, and survive my first cat procedure—treating Rex for an ingrown claw while Clive strokes his head. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

She holds my head in her lap and strokes my forehead just like Mama. In the Time of the Butterflies 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

I took her in my hands and stroked her stomach. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

Three strokes it rang, like silver in the air, and ceased: the third hour from the rising of the sun. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

Again the forefinger of the judge stroked his lip, this time appreciatively. And Then There Were None 1939-11-06T00:00:00Z

It seems odd that this boy who held my hand in the tent, stroked my forehead and caught me when I fainted will not shake it now. What the Night Sings 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

She took him out of his cage and stroked him on the head. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

And it was true that life at Ashton Place was very grand and that most people would consider this a stroke of good fortune, for the children and for Penelope as well. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling 2011-01-25T00:00:00Z

She reaches out and strokes my long, long hair, then links her elbow in mine. The Queen of Water 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

The only thing he saw was the bizarre ballerina sloth in his head, the one that was taking shape pencil stroke by pencil stroke on paper. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

He stroked his toy poodle, Henry, as he took in the scene. The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora 2017-05-16T00:00:00Z

“I’m glad she saved you,” said Sparrow, stroking her arms and hair. Strange the Dreamer 2017-03-28T00:00:00Z

Dad sits on my bed and strokes my hair. A Place at the Table 2020-08-11T00:00:00Z

I felt the minister’s hands stroke my shoulder. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

He stroked his mustache as if he were remembering things. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Mom started stroking my hair again, but she didn’t say anything. The Science of Breakable Things 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

I feel like I have to check on him just to make sure he hasn’t stroked in the bushes. The Help 2009-02-10T00:00:00Z

With that stroke the void moved from sacrilege to holiness. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea 2000-02-07T00:00:00Z

With each stroke the marker squeaked, obliterating his pressed khakis, blue button-down, and wide smile. Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence 2022-03-22T00:00:00Z

Siddhartha put him on his knee, let him weep and stroked his hair. Siddhartha 1922-01-01T00:00:00Z

They smiled on and the girls were stroking their hair over the temples. Cannery Row 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

She carried me out onto the front porch, stroking my hair and hushing me. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

I reached up to stroke Nero, who was now entering his fifteenth year. The Old Willis Place 2004-09-20T00:00:00Z

Meggie closed the book, stroked the binding, and looked at it from all sides. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

His hands went out to stroke, and he gave a swimmer’s kick. The Odyssey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

He nodded his head, and his right hand went up and stroked his gray beard. The Chosen 1967-04-28T00:00:00Z

Then he began to swim with easy, powerful strokes, striking out towards where the current was swift and certain, where the Really Deep began. The God of Small Things 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

On the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Auntie Braxton suffered a massive stroke and was rushed to the hospital by ferry in the middle of the night. Jacob Have I Loved 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

He walked toward the bunched velvet curtain and stroked it with two fingers. Goodbye Stranger 2015-08-04T00:00:00Z

And now he unknit his black brows; looked down, smiling at me, and stroked my hair, as if well pleased at seeing a danger averted. Jane Eyre 1847-10-16T00:00:00Z

Colonel Cathcart had been praying for just some stroke of good luck like Major Duluth’s death. Catch-22 1961-11-10T00:00:00Z

With his opponent out in front of him, rowing in the midthirties and maintaining a lead, he told Hume to lower the stroke count. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

She sat next to me, stroking my back and murmuring. Ella Enchanted 1998-09-01T00:00:00Z

Jon soothed him with a word and paused to stroke his muzzle. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

He was holding the sugar tongs in his hands, tenderly stroking their curved handles. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

Joseph put an arm around each of them, absently stroking the black curls of Anna who was on his right. Jacob Have I Loved 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

She looked confused at the sight of the package, but all it took was a single stroke at the back of her hand. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

Papi rolls a few strokes, squinting as he gets up near the top. Merci Suárez Changes Gears 2018-09-11T00:00:00Z

Here she paused and licked her paw with one long, deliberate stroke of her thick, pink tongue. The Ugly One 2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

Mitsima squeezed and patted, stroked and scraped; and there at last it stood, in shape the familiar water pot of Malpais, but creamy white instead of black, and still soft to the touch. Brave New World 1932-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mrs. Diamant put her head in her hands and cried, and I hugged her and stroked her hair. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

She felt the familiar outline of her mother’s wooden comb and stroked it for comfort. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

The duke put a hand on her knee, stroking it with his thumb. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

The water stroked my chin, its chill seizing my lungs in a viselike grip. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

He stroked the couple of hairs on his chin and grinned. The Stars Beneath Our Feet 2017-09-19T00:00:00Z

“Sometimes after a stroke, people lose their ability to speak,” she explains. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

The fans of the falcons of the Delhi Bridge trooped back into the clean, roomy bird barn and watched with great concern while Perry stroked the terrified falcon to calm him down. Frightful's Mountain 2001-05-21T00:00:00Z

“He’s in the intensive care unit. He had a pretty serious stroke, but they are hopeful they caught it in time,” my dad answers. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

He waits for Helene to slip up, taking note of the aggression in her strokes. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

With the cautious tenderness of one who strokes a notoriously vicious animal, he patted the Savage’s arm. Brave New World 1932-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ten years ago Ulbrickson himself had stroked Washington’s varsity to a national championship here. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The expression of the Count’s face was so hellish, that for a moment I feared for Harker, though I saw him throw the terrible knife aloft again for another stroke. Dracula 1897-05-26T00:00:00Z

I don’t want to ruin it by adding even one more stroke of pencil. A Place at the Table 2020-08-11T00:00:00Z

They began to pull in long, sweet, precisely synchronized strokes, rowing at a composed beat of thirty-three. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The picture is clear only in its broadest strokes. Circumference 2008-11-25T00:00:00Z

Ser Rodrik's hand went to his face to stroke his whiskers and discovered once again that they were gone, lie looked nonplussed. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Sarai had always felt the narrow stroke of luck—like an ax blow passing close enough to shave the tips from the down of her cheek—that Minya had saved her. Strange the Dreamer 2017-03-28T00:00:00Z

“Anyway, I’m not thinking of s-selling then. It was before . . . my stroke. I had a good farm, sixty-five acres. I don’t want to sell one piece to anybody. ” Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

Ton was showing Dareon how best to deliver a side- stroke when the new recruit entered the practice yard. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

She felt like a pervert, she so badly wanted to touch it, to stroke it, to caress it. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

Meggie stroked his little head as he chewed—and her fingertips found something hard under the silky fur: tiny horns growing beside his ears. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

She drew elephants for Aziza the way Jalil had shown her, in one stroke, without ever lifting the tip of the pen. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

He stroked his beard with his fat, ringed fingers. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

“I’m sure they’d be happy to have you,” Greg said, his fingers sliding up from my shoe to stroke my ankle. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

I took the axe and, with a wild scream that rose from my guts, I rushed forward, prepared to rip him down the middle with a single stroke. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

She combs my hair with quick, smooth strokes. How It Went Down 2014-10-21T00:00:00Z

I reached up and stroked the bird slowly on his belly and under his wing. The Ugly One 2013-06-11T00:00:00Z

She had never swum a stroke in her life, but her faith in her own nengkan convinced her that what these Americans couldn’t do, she could. The Joy Luck Club 1989-01-01T00:00:00Z

At the end of two weeks, he suffered another stroke and died. While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

I barely saw Grandma’s hand come up to stroke her cheek. A Long Way from Chicago 1998-09-01T00:00:00Z

And do you remember the deep blatting stroke of the great gong in the Joss House, and how its tone hung in the air so long? East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

“One thousand strokes will bring the lies to your hair. A lady never and a lady does and a lady always. Shine and sparkle.” Beauty Queens 2011-05-24T00:00:00Z

I meet my mom’s eyes as Julie puts the O₂ mask back over my mouth, watching as my mom reaches out to gently stroke my hair like she did when I was younger. Five Feet Apart 2018-11-20T00:00:00Z

Tayo stroked her neck and made sure the rope was tied securely to the tree. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked Fig’s gray coat, and his body vibrated with his purrs. Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence 2022-03-22T00:00:00Z

"There, now, Daisy," said her mother, stroking her hair, "he's just a little elf-touched, that's all. No need to take on so." Stardust 1998-10-01T00:00:00Z

One woman’s husband recovering from a stroke still told his wife he could get along without her while she went to jail. Votes for Women! 2018-02-13T00:00:00Z

She could barely thrash her way through a few strokes, forget passing the deepwater test necessary to go off the diving boards that towered at the end of the right dock. The Miseducation of Cameron Post 2012-02-07T00:00:00Z

Theoretically the stroke oar always rows at the rate and with the degree of power called for by the coxswain, but in the end it is the stroke who ultimately controls these things. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He stood there, reading it, and sort of stroking his bare chest and stomach, with this very stupid expression on his face. The Catcher in the Rye 1951-07-16T00:00:00Z

Naomi spread the cloth out and stroked it lightly. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

Between her district accent and her garbled speech—possibly she’s had a stroke—I can’t make out more than one in four words. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

He was playing with his yo-yo, dancing it with short, tight strokes of the wrist. The Things They Carried 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

"Learn to make a plus sign so that both the vertical and horizontal strokes are the same thickness. That is your second lesson. You can practice as soon as you buy your materials." The View From Saturday 1996-09-01T00:00:00Z

As the blood clears, I can see where every stroke of the lash landed and feel it resonate in the single cut on my face. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

I secure my goggles, check the waterproof bandage on my leg, and swim six remarkably even strokes to reach Phil. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

I gently stroked the hand that was outside the quilt. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Just like a baby bird,” she cooed, and as she held the sandwich for me she stroked my hair. Dead End in Norvelt 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

Ged stroked this one, and it woke and yawned, showing a small brown tongue and white teeth, but it was not afraid. A Wizard of Earthsea 1968-11-01T00:00:00Z

In a stroke of luck, they also had an idea where Willie Jett might be headed: Jett had been courting a young lady whose father kept a hotel in the nearby town of Bowling Green. Chasing Lincoln's Killer 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

“We’re happy here. Oscar got a good job in engineering, which he loves, and he’s earning more than he did in Cuba,” Gladys replies, stroking the gleaming diamond ring on her finger. Lucky Broken Girl 2017-04-11T00:00:00Z

By closing one eye and destroying perspective he brought them down within reach so that he could put up his fingers and stroke them. The Red Pony 1937-01-01T00:00:00Z

And he began thinking, stroking his upper lip, where the moustache was going to be. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

“At this time,” she reads, “everyone is advised to stay indoors to avoid heat stroke, and stay tuned for more information.” Dry 2018-10-02T00:00:00Z

Patti stroked a cat that was wandering under the dinner table. Genuine Fraud 2017-09-05T00:00:00Z

I caressed his cheek, delicately stroked his eyelid, the purple shadow in the hollow under his eye. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

He had also been an outstanding stroke on the Washington crew of his day and later chairman of the Board of Rowing Stewards at Washington. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

But there was no time for nostalgia or to stop and stroke a velvety nose. Six of Crows 2015-09-29T00:00:00Z

"Well," the old man said, stroking his heard, "I am indebted to you for having eaten your food." Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

“It was worth it,” he said, stroking its wooden back. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

I picture my hand stroking Teddy’s hair, grasping a bow poised above my cello, interlaced with Adam’s. If I Stay 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mary, in turn, let Atal tidy her hair, enjoying how the soft trunk lifted it and let it fall, stroking and massaging her scalp. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

Rowing stroke for stroke, they remained tightly bunched up for a hundred yards. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

In no position except for coxswain is experience so important as it is at stroke, though, and Hume still had a lot of experience to garner. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

The pressure and length of her strokes steadily increase with his talk, which is now Korean. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

He sat back, stroking his cheek with his fingertips and watching me with one of his thinking stares. The Rock and the River 2009-01-06T00:00:00Z

I swam for the raft in frantic strokes, precisely the sort of wild thrash­ing that sharks find so deliciously inviting. Life of Pi 2001-09-01T00:00:00Z

I sit next to her and stroke her arm. A Mango-Shaped Space 2003-04-16T00:00:00Z

Gram was painting it in the same broad, swooping strokes and bright, contrasting colors that she always used. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

I was the one who filled thy crop — I fed thee, stroked thee, day and night. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village 2007-07-24T00:00:00Z

As the door closed behind Jamison, she stroked the cloth, seeking its solace, but it seemed to withdraw from her touch, almost as if it were trying to warn her of something. Gathering Blue 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Yes. An aneurysm can burst, causing a massive stroke and death.” Tangerine 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

She was still stroking Bloomberg, still succoring him, forcibly, into the subtle and difficult world outside warm afghans. Franny and Zooey 1961-09-14T00:00:00Z

Every stroke Washington took in the last mile widened the distance. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

A crazy impulse to reach over and touch him, to stroke his perfect face just once in the darkness, nearly overwhelmed me. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

He kept pulling, still not able to think or do anything but stroke, pulled to the edge of the river until the raft nudged against the dock, bounced, and then the paddle dropped. The River 1991-06-01T00:00:00Z

Each stroke of the distant bell seemed to make her wince. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

Sally was stroking her hair, preening like a peacock. The Lions of Little Rock 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

The old man reverently stroked the painted wood underneath the blanket. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

“Ah,” said Mr. Huxley, stroking his chin and studying Grace as if she were a bug on the wall that he didn’t quite know how to squish. The Smartest Kid in the Universe 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z

While Mr. Das adjusted his telephoto lens, Mrs. Das reached into her straw bag and pulled out a bottle of colorless nail polish, which she proceeded to stroke on the tip of her index finger. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

“You okay, Melody?” he asks as he comes over to stroke my hair. Out of My Mind 2010-03-09T00:00:00Z

He had wanted to creep to her and lick the blood off her hand after she had provided him with food, encourage that hand to scratch and stroke him again. Tiger, Tiger 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z

He reached out, just like his father, and quietly began to stroke Nunu’s head. Eleven 2014-01-06T00:00:00Z

“It’s your little mind, Demi,” replied the sage, stroking the yellow head respectfully. Little Women 1868-01-01T00:00:00Z

The TV set continued, “The ‘moon’ is painted; in the enlargements, one of which you see now on your screen, brush strokes show. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968-01-02T00:00:00Z

I was counting the strokes, and as the sixth one hit me, I knew I was going to survive in silence. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

They began to work on the vertical stroke, moving along between the strawberries, the boy advancing, the man retreating, the two of them together in it. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

Wrote it on his collar in big, bold strokes. Dog Squad 2021-05-11T00:00:00Z

People who have had highly abusive childhoods also do well; like stroke victims, they’ve had to practice the difficult art of reading minds, in their case the minds of alcoholic or violent parents. Blink 2005-01-11T00:00:00Z

The doctor said Grandpa had another stroke and that is why he died. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

I reached in around the deer flap to stroke her back to calmness. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

She said she could stop a stroke by adjusting a chakra; that she could halt heart attacks using only energy; that she could cure cancer if people had faith. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

At a stroke, in a simple formula, Einstein endowed geologists and astronomers with the luxury of billions of years. A Short History of Nearly Everything 2003-05-06T00:00:00Z

The cow relieved of a great weight was landing on the fill with Janie before Tea Cake stroked in and crawled weakly upon the fill again. Their Eyes Were Watching God 1937-09-18T00:00:00Z

Already potentially responsible for her husband’s stroke, I had now committed a sacrilege at my first liturgical opportunity. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

“Shut up. So I had a stroke of inspiration. I was thinking about the whole story with Namrata, and I was like, you know what? I’m searching for Hudson Panini.” What If It's Us 2018-10-09T00:00:00Z

She strokes his face, running her fingers around his dished cheek and down under his chin. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

After supper, when Adam sat in his new comfortable chair, reading the Salinas Index, he felt a stroking touch on his shoulder and looked up. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

The Americans were taking somewhat shorter strokes and spending a lot less time recovering between them. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He slips his hands under her shirt and strokes her ribs with his fingers. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

Tucking my face into her hair, I kept going, stroking, holding down my rhythm to the slowest ache I could bear. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

Teachers wanted to talk about chemistry, or the transcendental movement in literature; coaches could help you perfect your butterfly stroke. Tradition 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z

I would have freaked out, but Ma just strokes the bird before gently pushing it off. Dragons in a Bag 2018-10-23T00:00:00Z

He swayed back and forth in his leather chair, his fingers stroking his beard, and continued to speak in a quiet, singsong voice. The Chosen 1967-04-28T00:00:00Z

Smiling, stroking my head, glowing blue-white light, and exhaling softly. Please Ignore Vera Dietz 2012-10-12T00:00:00Z

Dad’s stroking his beard, and Mom clasps her hands, looking slightly abashed. What If It's Us 2018-10-09T00:00:00Z

“Yes, keep them close,” said Mr. Curtain, stroking his chin. The Mysterious Benedict Society 2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

And when Turner walked in just at the stroke of seven o’clock, it was even more deucedly awkward. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy 2004-05-24T00:00:00Z

But the first time she went on furlough to Berkeley, she had nearly had a stroke. The Son of Neptune 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z

Cate came up behind me, stroking a hand through my hair. The Darkest Minds 2012-12-18T00:00:00Z

I watched them together now, when she would remind him of his medication, or come in and stroke his neck, or talk about one of their sons. Tuesdays with Morrie 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

A wooden stroke: Iron sinks in the gasping core. Grendel 1971-01-01T00:00:00Z

I crawled up on my bed and stroked the hungry Frightful. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

She gently stroked both of his arms just beneath the shoulders. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

“There have been falconers around,” he says, stroking his beard. On the Far Side of the Mountain 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked his arm to keep him calm as Patrice worked the needle in. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

He hunched forward and bellowed for Hume to take the stroke rate up. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

We sat there in silence for a few moments while my grandmother went on stroking me very gently with one finger and puffing her cigar with the other hand. The Witches 1983-10-27T00:00:00Z

Such stroking and soothing murmurs would have been a release for Cecilia after a frustrating day whose various crosscurrents of feeling she had preferred not to examine. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

And in a stroke of genius, Kevin holds up lines of his poems on large white cards as he speaks about the writer’s life. Amina's Song 2021-03-09T00:00:00Z

As if it had disturbed her, Pearl yawned and stretched and Mia had cuddled her closer, stroked her hair, pressed her lips to that unbelievably soft cheek. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

He sat stroking her head and looking down into her face. Their Eyes Were Watching God 1937-09-18T00:00:00Z

And all fifty or sixty men stroked their chins, as if in deep thought. The Last Last-Day-of-Summer 2019-04-02T00:00:00Z

Then he stooped, picked it up himself, and with two strokes cut Buck’s traces. The Call of the Wild 1903-01-01T00:00:00Z

He’d captured her so perfectly in just a few strokes—her oversize square glasses, her wild hair, the furrow in her brow. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

Dany stroked the swell of her belly gently, wishing she could reach him, touch him, soothe him. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Every stroke of the quill leaves me a little poorer... or would, if I were not a beggar to begin with. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

“Thank you, little monkey,” she whispers in his hair, stroking his hair as his shoulders heave up and down. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

“You’ll have to tell me how you two met, though,” Eugenia said, reaching out to stroke her son’s arm. Anger Is a Gift 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

I want to reach down and stroke it, but I know that would destroy it. The Adoration of Jenna Fox 2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

Josiah looked at his own reflection in the truck window, stroking the hairs of his mustache into place. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Then his fingers crawled up along his trembling leg to his holstered pistol, very quietly, and stroked and tapped the leather sheath. The Martian Chronicles 1950-01-01T00:00:00Z

And why bring me this dog?” he said, stroking Gwenforte’s head, his brows knitted with befuddlement. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

Rose sits beside her and strokes her braids to calm her. Flowers for Algernon 1959-05-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked Nailer on the cheek; his pale eyes looked as bright and crazed as Nailer felt his own must be. Ship Breaker 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z

And another, firmer voice—her mother’s—added, “Come in now, Winnie. Right away. You’ll get heat stroke out there on a day like this. And your lunch is ready.” Tuck Everlasting 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked the phoenix, which had fluttered down onto his knee. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets 1998-07-02T00:00:00Z

When Grandma decided not to move out of state to help her sister recover from her stroke, Jay bought Popkenchurch. On the Come Up 2019-02-05T00:00:00Z

He kept himself awake by counting the strokes of Uncle’s paddle and trying to gauge how far the canoe traveled with every twenty strokes. A Long Walk to Water 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Yes, of course, young man,” said Farooqi, stroking his chin thoughtfully, trying his best to look like a calm and wise scholar. The Smartest Kid in the Universe 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z

My fingers long for a fat paintbrush to stroke color across the white backboards: bloodred, electric blue, tangerine — blistering colors. Rules 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then, in the soft light of the moon, he began to paint on a broken wall with broad strokes. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 2011-06-07T00:00:00Z

Edward pushed a door open, and there was the yellow brass bed and the old semaphore banners from college and a very musty raccoon coat which he stroked with muted affection. The Martian Chronicles 1950-01-01T00:00:00Z

A good swing does not necessarily make crews go faster, except to the extent that if no one’s actions check the run of the boat, rowers get more bang for their buck on each stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Every part of her felt warm and liquid and flushed as Dill’s guitar-callused fingertips stroked the webs of her fingers. The Serpent King 2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

I watched as Mama gently stroked the side of Papa’s face. The Red Umbrella 2010-04-25T00:00:00Z

He held her in his arms and stroked her hair. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

If the blade entered the water at any angle other than ninety degrees, the amount of power generated by the subsequent stroke would be compromised and the efficiency of the whole boat reduced. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

With tiny strokes of her pinkie finger, she traced the letters in the grime of the windowpane, mouthing the sounds as she wrote. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

You stroked a frayed knot of the rope that had once held our roof together. The Bridge Home 2019-02-05T00:00:00Z

He uses some of his drawing techniques in his painting, too—dashes and strokes, working to find the painting style that he likes best. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers 2017-04-18T00:00:00Z

When he felt the lump where he’d struck it, he made soothing sounds and stroked the sore place. Tiger, Tiger 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z

He heard one of the dogs, out in the doghouse, scratching a flea and bumping his elbow against the floor with every stroke. The Red Pony 1937-01-01T00:00:00Z

She began stroking the fur on the back of my neck with one finger. The Witches 1983-10-27T00:00:00Z

Then he grabbed the windpipe and the gullet, eased them back, and severed them with one stroke of his little knife. Song of Solomon 1977-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Are there really brush strokes that show up under magnification?” Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968-01-02T00:00:00Z

He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks’s fluffy head. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban 1999-07-08T00:00:00Z

Nhamo immediately scrambled to her cousin’s side and began stroking her as she would a terrified infant. A Girl Named Disaster 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z

She stroked Granny’s forehead, held her hand, and talked to her about cheerful things. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

The second stroke, just a week before the last one, took away his ability to move or speak. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

His hand stroked her hair, just once, and settled against her shoulder. The Reader 2016-01-12T00:00:00Z

With a few quick, sure strokes, he painted a boat in the water. When the Sea Turned to Silver 2016-10-04T00:00:00Z

I couldn’t even stroke her, I was so covered in goo. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

Thus, the experienced caner will always pause between strokes to allow the agony to reach its peak. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

I tried hitting one backhand; the stroke was horrible; I returned to only whacking my forehand, my best stroke. Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

“Surely, it is not that much a surprise,” Jacqueline said, stroking my shoulder. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

She stroked his face, marveling at what it had come to mean to her in so short a span of time—this crooked nose, these rough-cut cheeks, these rivercat lashes and dreamer’s eyes. Strange the Dreamer 2017-03-28T00:00:00Z

At the stroke of eleven the parade stepped off with the high-school bands of the three nearest towns with high schools. A Long Way from Chicago 1998-09-01T00:00:00Z

She is coming toward us, pumping her wings with quick, strong strokes. On the Far Side of the Mountain 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z

I held his head there and stroked it. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

She strokes it like I'm one of her teacup pets. The Belles 2018-02-06T00:00:00Z

She kneels down beside the boy and tenderly strokes the back of his head. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

She leans against his chest and he wraps his arms around her, gently stroking the back of her neck with an ink-stained hand. The Night Circus 2011-09-13T00:00:00Z

I picked her up and stroked her, and we both might have died there if I had not opened the tent flap to get her some water. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

Mercy stroked hers with a timid finger and laid them gently aside. The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958-12-01T00:00:00Z

Daddy kneeled next to Uncle Edisto on the other side of the bed and stroked his pale forehead. Each Little Bird That Sings 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z

Michelangelo's great hand strokes the greyhound's soft white fur. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

The anesthesiologist absentmindedly strokes my temples through her latex gloves. If I Stay 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

The boys took one last mighty stroke and hurled the boat across the line. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He stroked his hand along Cool Papa’s jaw. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground 2017-05-09T00:00:00Z

The entry was dated March 16 of the year before, just three days before Lázaro’s stroke. Shadowshaper 2015-06-30T00:00:00Z

I suppose the strange angle of her smile was the result of the stroke, which is what had caused her to fall and break her hip. Jacob Have I Loved 1980-01-01T00:00:00Z

Simultaneously, he pulled the oar toward his chest against the resistance of the water, throwing all the strength of his combined arm, back, and leg muscles into the stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He ran his fingers slowly back and forth along the length of it, stroking it lovingly, and the shiny paper wrapper made little sharp crackly noises in the quiet room. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1964-09-12T00:00:00Z

"Beth, you shouldn't make up stories," Sansa corrected the younger girl, gently stroking her hair to take the harshness out of her words. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

Captain Hardcastle was sitting up on the dais in front of us, stroking his orange moustache, twitching his head and grunting through his nose. Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

Hume knocked the stroke rate up just a bit, to thirty-six, and Washington swiftly walked past Cal seat by seat. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Who else could make the colors of the aurora borealis rise off my skin where he strokes my forearm? The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

She took hold of Granny’s hand again and stroked it gently with one finger. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

His thumb slid down, and now it was stroking the hollow above her collarbone, then the flesh beneath it. A Thousand Splendid Suns 2007-05-22T00:00:00Z

In the last mile, the Washington boat lengthened its lead a bit more with each stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I put down the pitchfork and knelt in front of it, stroking the initials on the front. Hattie Big Sky 2006-09-26T00:00:00Z

It cannot be accomplished through a landmark court decision, an executive order, or single stroke of the presidential pen. The New Jim Crow 2010-01-05T00:00:00Z

A week after he had sworn on her death certificate that she died of another stroke, a relative alerted the police that Friedgood was about to leave the country for London. Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

It looked like maybe his diabetes was acting up; I hoped it wasn’t another stroke. Mississippi Trial, 1955 2002-05-27T00:00:00Z

The only option Moch had left, the only thing he could think of, was to hand the stroke off to Joe. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Dilsey stroked Ben’s head, slowly and steadily, smoothing the bang upon his brow. The Sound and the Fury 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

Don Coy would have to step into the shell again at the stroke position. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“She came near a stroke recently because of the agony she’s gone through regarding inquiries into her mother’s death and those cells. I won’t be a part of anyone doing that to her again.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

He saw the Tens stroking their new shortened hair, the females shaking their heads to feel the unaccustomed lightness without the heavy braids they had worn so long. The Giver 1993-04-01T00:00:00Z

They sit on death row in solitary confinement, waiting for the spiking fevers, horrible pain in the internal organs, brain strokes, and finally the endgame, with its sudden, surprising, uncontrollable gushes of blood. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

She tucks him into her bed at night, absently stroking his brow. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Thrasymedes who could stand his ground in war, stood ready, with a sharp two-bladed axe, for the stroke of sacrifice, and Perseus held a bowl for the blood. The Odyssey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroke my chin like I’m deep in thought. All The Bright Places 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

“Don’t you ever get tired of stroking your own face in the mirror, English?” All American Boys 2015-09-29T00:00:00Z

I kept kicking and stroking my arm overhead until I broke the surface and sucked in a lungful of air. Hole in My Life 2002-03-26T00:00:00Z

She let her fingers move gently in the water, and the fish glided in between them and held itself there with lazy motions of its tail while she very delicately stroked its slippery sides. Tiger, Tiger 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z

“He has the sweetest of smiles,” and with one insubstantial hand she stroked the child’s sparse blond hair. The Graveyard Book 2008-09-30T00:00:00Z

She watched the sprite’s face stretch out in fear, and she whispered to it, soothing it, stroking its hair. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

He stroked her warm hair, her tender shoulders, and then he kissed her face again and again, and presently she gave a deep, shuddering sigh and fell still. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

I walk along the breakwater in the soothing Vancouver drizzle, the halftones of the seashore, the stroking of the small waves. Cat's Eye 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z

Having seized the lead, Cal dropped its rate down a bit, to a more sustainable thirty-two, and Grover Clark began blowing his whistle in time with the stroke count. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He took her hand and stroked it like you would a cat. The London Eye Mystery 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

He wasn’t too well himself after his first mild stroke, and Lelia and I, despite our discord, were mutually grateful that the woman had been taking good care of him. Native Speaker 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z

The icy transparent water was colder than he had expected, but he plunged forward and began stroking. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

“Good one, Ruby,” I say, watching Stella stroke Ruby’s back with her trunk. The One and Only Ivan 2012-01-17T00:00:00Z

The rowers in the ship’s boats had loosed their tow ropes and turned back toward the cog, stroking hard. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

The axe scratched at the apple of Pycelle's throat and stroked the soft wobbly skin under his jaw, scraping away the last hairs. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

She could see that his forehead was too high, that a small scar cut a white stroke through his eyebrow. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

“Miss Mehra’s working on her first movie, which will explore gender relationships in old cinema,” Sahil said, stroking an imaginary beard. From Twinkle, with Love 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

He sighs quietly into my ear, and in return I stroke the thick hair of his back. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

And as I was crossing the street I had a stroke of inspiration about who might have killed Wellington. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

He squeaks a reply, and my father the Slammer strokes his perfectly stubbled jaw and says in the soft, patient voice of a nun, “Josh Raymond, we’ve discussed kicking the table.” All The Bright Places 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

There was a point in the far distance where the sky almost seemed to blend with the sea, stroking the surface the way two people’s lips would touch each other’s. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

He reached past me and gently stroked the appropriate part of the leaf. The Name of the Wind 2007-03-27T00:00:00Z

Popping a last bubble, Maria Gonzales tucked her gum safely behind an ear while Joseph gave an extra stroke to his hair. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson 1984-10-12T00:00:00Z

It wasn’t until years later that Ivy realized Taryn’s dad had been a swimmer in college and had taught her the names of all the swimming strokes. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

I lost myself in the rhythm of the strokes, my arms tracing long ellipses in the air as if pulling something toward me that refused to come. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

With every stroke forward, a giant invisible hand had pushed him two strokes backward into the bay, returning him toward the shore. Touching Spirit Bear 2001-01-09T00:00:00Z

He stroked and squeezed while his lower half swished like a crocodile’s tail. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

Mormont stroked the bird's black feathers, and stifled a sudden yawn with the back of his hand. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

The barman rowed with long strokes and on the forward thrust of the boat the line throbbed. A Farewell To Arms 1929-09-02T00:00:00Z

Brush stroke by brush stroke, Mango appears, perched on Grandpa’s right shoulder. A Mango-Shaped Space 2003-04-16T00:00:00Z

She grunts and pushes and the infant’s head appears, only the head, my mother, and it’s the stroke of midnight, the New Year. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir 1996-09-05T00:00:00Z

Great crews may have men or women of exceptional talent or strength; they may have outstanding coxswains or stroke oars or bowmen; but they have no stars. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Knowing Kapu did not understand, she reached out and softly stroked him, singing: “Lie still. Lie still.” Julie of the Wolves 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

Lázaro’s stroke had left him with full movement of his body—: he could take care of himself for the most part—but this was the first time he’d made any sense in a year. Shadowshaper 2015-06-30T00:00:00Z

He's still stroking my hair when I fall asleep. The Hunger Games 2008-09-14T00:00:00Z

With one stroke of such a knife my life would stream away—an undoing worse than the mere loss of maidenhood. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

He shuffles toward the workbench, one foot slightly turned in like Papa’s after his stroke. The Last Cuentista 2021-10-12T00:00:00Z

The star stroked the unicorn's wet neck and spoke softly to the animal, but it made no move, stood there frozen in the light of the inn like a pale ghost. Stardust 1998-10-01T00:00:00Z

We were all about to witness a Nazi having a stroke. 100 Sideways Miles 2014-09-02T00:00:00Z

Samuel put his forefinger down and stroked the hot foreheads. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

George kneels on the ground next to his best friend and stroking his soft ear and whispering his words, finally looks at Ray’s chest too. A Bird Will Soar 2021-10-19T00:00:00Z

The second Davon heard the word stroke, he grabbed Deborah’s pocketbook, dug out her car keys, and ran to the car. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

With three quick strokes she sketched the problem on the page—across, down, and then a sinuous line that made him think suddenly of lips and hips and other curves. Little Fires Everywhere 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

He fed her the apple and stroked her mane and said he was making it official, her name was Night. Bone Gap 2015-03-03T00:00:00Z

His low purr, the stroke of his fingertips upon my lower back. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

He reached up to stroke my cheek once quickly with his thumb, his face curious. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

Marie Curie and the Joliots proposed a neutron even heavier than Chadwick’s, at a value that solved numerous riddles of nuclear activity in one stroke. Big Science 2015-07-07T00:00:00Z

I row a steady pace toward the scarecrow, listening to the rhythmic squeak of the oar sockets that complain with each stroke. Challenger Deep 2015-04-15T00:00:00Z

She had seen the boy stroke Joanna’s pretty hair tenderly; had seen how Joanna put up her hand to touch his cheek. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1943-01-01T00:00:00Z

Meggie scratched its ears and chin and stroked its back as she looked down the road that went around a sharp bend as it left the village and disappeared from sight beyond the houses. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Boomer settles beside me, and I stroke his soft fur as I listen to the stream rippling slowly past. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

I flailed my arms wildly, trying to stroke toward the sandy shore. The Honest Truth 2014-10-07T00:00:00Z

“That’s a long way,” she said, sitting back down and stroking the child’s hair. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

“It’s not so bad,” Catherine said, making quick pencil strokes on the sketch pad in her hand to delineate Princesse’s naked breasts. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

I draw it in long, straight strokes, like cedar planks across a giant log cabin. I Can Make This Promise 2019-10-01T00:00:00Z

“Your mom called late last night. Your aunt had a very serious stroke. She’s not going to make it.” Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe 2012-02-21T00:00:00Z

Then he fell into a reverie, stroking his beard, breathing fire, and staring at the paper. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

She gives him ajar of strawberry marmalade and strokes his hair. Enrique's Journey 2006-02-21T00:00:00Z

With delicate, concentrated strokes he guided the scriver on the silver. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter 1940-07-29T00:00:00Z

Her hand kept going up to stroke her dæmon, who was very nervous. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

If he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, he could feel her fingers gently stroking his forehead, her fresh breath touching him like a breeze, her hair brushing against his hand. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

Very gently I stroked the jet black ones that came down from her eyes. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

Harry sat on his bed for a long time, absentmindedly stroking Hedwig. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban 1999-07-08T00:00:00Z

In effect, he is having a stroke through the whole body. The Hot Zone 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked her fleece and felt her chest a hundred times, to see if she was breathing. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village 2007-07-24T00:00:00Z

I crawled in and stroked her hair like Mama did mine whenever I had a fever. In the Time of the Butterflies 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

She strokes the curls poking out of her long dark braid, and tucks a book into her dress sash. The Belles 2018-02-06T00:00:00Z

Not a year later, Bobby’s sister, Joan, then age sixty, died suddenly of a stroke, and Bobby once again felt the pangs of not being able to show his respects at a family member’s graveside. Endgame 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. The Battle of the Labyrinth 2008-05-06T00:00:00Z

After the initial shock, she swiftly grew accustomed to the temperature, stroking over to the shallow end away from her brother. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

He laughed and reached behind him for something on the table, still stroking Gwenforte’s head. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

It interested me, even at that moment, to see, that, whilst the face of white set passion worked convulsively over the bowed head, the hands tenderly and lovingly stroked the ruffled hair. Dracula 1897-05-26T00:00:00Z

Then, deliberately, he wiped his finger under his bloody nose and with two strokes stained my cheeks. The Bell Jar 1963-01-14T00:00:00Z

Robbie ran his hand along the casket like he was stroking the face of some pretty woman. The Boy in the Black Suit 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

The hunters were looking uneasily at the sky, flinching from the stroke of the drops. Lord of the Flies 1954-09-17T00:00:00Z

But by the half-mile mark, Washington had crept up and nosed ahead of them without raising its stroke rate. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

With each stroke the boys took their rivals down by the length of another seat. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

It did not come clear in one stroke. Atonement 2001-09-20T00:00:00Z

Arabella stands at Charlotte's side, veiled, shoulders slumped, holding and stroking her frail hand. The Belles 2018-02-06T00:00:00Z

“If you stroke my forehead, maybe I can fall asleep. And wake me the moment your baba returns.” Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

Her mother sat next to her, stroking her back. Finding Junie Kim 2021-05-04T00:00:00Z

For an instant she seemed to be stroking the river with two banks of long bright torches. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

She knelt beside him, rubbing his hand, stroking his head, calling his name, and looking around to everyone there for help. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

The Undying were all around her, blue and cold, whispering as they reached for her, pulling, stroking, tugging at her clothes^ touching her with their dry cold hands, twining their fingers through her hair. A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

It flew to him and landed on his arm, and Bran stroked its feathers and slipped inside of it again. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

Then, the line for which the speech will always be remembered: the stone-cold stroke of brilliance. Words Like Loaded Pistols 2011-10-20T00:00:00Z

When I look up, Jason is stroking Nutmeg’s back with his fingertips. Rules 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

The priest took the Bible from Hamlet and considered the passage, stroking his bearded chin. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

Portions of it are constantly changing hands, and it is the chance of seizing this or that fragment by a sudden stroke of treachery that dictates the endless changes of alignment. 1984 1949-06-08T00:00:00Z

It turned and sank out of sight, back flippers pushing water in alternate strokes. Life of Pi 2001-09-01T00:00:00Z

The quill strokes seemed slightly less precise, the labels messier. Beasts of Prey 2021-09-28T00:00:00Z

“I know what you mean, mijo,” she said, stroking the back of my head. Breaking Through 2001-08-27T00:00:00Z

He unburied the puppy and inspected it, and he stroked it from ears to tail. Of Mice and Men 1937-01-01T00:00:00Z

I gazed at my father for a moment, touched his forehead slightly, then withdrew my hand. in my opinion,' Mrs Mortimer said, 'he's suffered a stroke. The Remains of the Day 1989-05-01T00:00:00Z

“Can I have your coat?” she asked plaintively, stroking it like it was a cat. A Place to Belong 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

I mixed the paint thoroughly, then brushed it smoothly on one of the pieces of board, careful that the brush strokes were uniform. Invisible Man 1952-01-01T00:00:00Z

Her fingertip moves in short, gentle strokes between Buttercup’s eyes. Mockingjay 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z

The sheriff strokes his yellow mustache as he thinks, and I fight to keep the excitement from my face. Dread Nation 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z

The way my son reacts to my lips stroking his cheeks decides for me if he’s asleep. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

I guide her in front of me and get her to lie down, stroking her arm to soothe her. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

She stroked the tails, prodded the bellies, pried apart the gutted flesh. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

“I’m just using that as an example,” she said, stroking my face. Feed 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

When she thought, this is the same sun that strokes the faces of my old friends back in my earlier world, her eyes felt thick. Habibi 1997-10-01T00:00:00Z

He stops punching and goes back to stroking himself, smoothly, evenly now. The Help 2009-02-10T00:00:00Z

She brought him lots of maple-flavored water, stroked his forehead carefully, soothingly. The Birchbark House 1999-07-21T00:00:00Z

Each night his mother cooked something his father had liked, but she was too upset to eat the dishes herself, and her eyes would well up as Shoba stroked her hand. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

Sam took a bird from one of the cages, stroked its feathers, attached the message, and said, "Fly home now, brave one. Home." A Clash of Kings 1998-11-16T00:00:00Z

I sat down in the straw and stroked Mouser, who looked like she could stand a little attention. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

I dragged the bucket to the center of the room and got to work, sliding the mop over the floor in long, easy strokes. City of the Plague God 2021-01-12T00:00:00Z

“Who will also be the smartest bidder,” said Mr. Huxley, stroking back his slick black hair. The Smartest Kid in the Universe 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z

It’s not. 9TH JUROR: For an old man who had a stroke it’s a long walk. Twelve Angry Men 1955-01-01T00:00:00Z

My hand flows over the paper in broad strokes, a familiar feeling in my stomach as inspiration takes hold. A Place at the Table 2020-08-11T00:00:00Z

A dog butted against her leg, and she bent down to stroke him. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

She misses Ma’s arms around her, stroking her hair. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z

Professor Grubbly-Plank’s voice carried over to the boys; the girls were all clustered around the unicorn now, stroking it. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 2000-07-08T00:00:00Z

He hammers a strip of heated metal with careful, measured strokes, his brightly tattooed arms sweating from the strain. An Ember in the Ashes 2015-04-28T00:00:00Z

He wept quietly, and Abra stroked his cheek and wiped the flowing tears away with the edge of her skirt. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

Jonas slowed the strokes of his hand on her back thoughtfully. The Giver 1993-04-01T00:00:00Z

Oliver was in Sweden recuperating from a debilitating stroke he had suffered in August 1989. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked my purple cake, and a bruise-colored cat and then a brown stick cat darted out. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents 1991-01-04T00:00:00Z

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring your stuff,” she said, stroking my arm. Auggie & Me 2015-07-20T00:00:00Z

She stroked his fur automatically, and he turned his head to glare at Malcolm with those unfathomable eyes. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

The enormously complicated sequence of movements, each of which an oarsman must execute with exquisite precision, becomes exponentially more difficult to perform as the stroke rate increases. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

“I think you’re on fire'' She gave the back of his hand a short, brisk, brushing stroke with the flats of her fingers. “ Nine Stories 1953-04-06T00:00:00Z

Dad would stroke her forehead until she fell asleep again. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ron, he saw, was now holding Hermione and stroking her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder, tears dripping from the end of his own long nose. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

The man was crying, slowly and hopelessly, while Arthur, sitting beside him, stroked his hand. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked her hair as I whispered to her. Root Magic 2021-01-05T00:00:00Z

“Don't think you can just fly off and never return,” said Thor, and he stroked his white beard meaningfully. Norse Mythology 2017-02-07T00:00:00Z

He stroked the black leather surface of the briefcase. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968-01-02T00:00:00Z

Approaching the line and already ahead by four lengths, George Morry finally called for a higher stroke rate. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I put my head in her lap, and she strokes my hair, and we laugh at the same jokes in the same way that we’ve been laughing at them for years. Everything, Everything 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

He pushed off, and the sound of his slow oar strokes faded away in the mist. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

Mami stroked my head, which lay relaxed and at home on her lap. When I Was Puerto Rican 1993-09-20T00:00:00Z

He kept sticking his nose into her elbow and flipping up her arm and wouldn’t stop until she stroked him. Burning Blue 2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

My hands were black with grease, and each stroke left a dark smudge. Educated 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

Gwenforte raised her head to ascertain the reason that he had stopped stroking her back. The Inquisitor's Tale 2016-09-27T00:00:00Z

He stroked the soft skin underneath until it tingled. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

I bent down, and began patting Jasper’s head, and stroking his ears. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

It was hard to see the E at first, because it was surrounded by such a tangle of other lines, and because she was expecting it to be an E drawn with straight strokes. The City of Ember 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

With five swift strokes, she cuts it into pieces and adds them to the steaming broth. Ophelia 2006-10-31T00:00:00Z

He needed a younger brother like Claudia’s, who had a ton of money, or he needed to have a stroke of good luck. Shooting Kabul 2010-06-22T00:00:00Z

Rachel took Candy in her arms and stroked her hair. Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel 2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

MacDuff whimpered and licked my hand, and I stroked his head. The Old Willis Place 2004-09-20T00:00:00Z

Then I sat at my vanity and glumly counted one hundred strokes of the hairbrush. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2009-05-12T00:00:00Z

At lunch, she put her head in Claire’s lap and let her stroke Maya’s hair as they sat in the grass in the sunshine. Far from the Tree 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

He began to trim some palm fronds with firm strokes. Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

“Lyra, darling,” Mrs. Coulter murmured, stroking her hair. The Golden Compass 1995-07-01T00:00:00Z

Meggie stroked the spines of the books crammed close together on the shelves. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

He sat down beside her on the bed and began to stroke her cheek with the same half-mocking touch he had used on earlier occasions. The House of the Spirits: A Novel 1982-01-01T00:00:00Z

He had been holding it, stroking it, off and on throughout the night. Son 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z

All of them, Werner notices, are in some way broken: they limp, or are blind in one eye, or their faces are lopsided from strokes or the previous war. All the Light We Cannot See 2014-05-06T00:00:00Z

She perched now on the stern of our boat, watching the sanctuary she’d created slip away, more lost with every oar stroke. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

He strokes the cheek I slapped, smiling a razor-sharp smile that cuts me down to size. In the Time of the Butterflies 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

“No, Shilling,” she said, stroking his head and planting a soft kiss on his nose with her flickering lips. How to Disappear Completely 2020-04-28T00:00:00Z

I went there with him three times a week throughout my child­hood, a Monday, Wednesday, Friday early morning ritual with the clockwork regularity of a good front-crawl stroke. Life of Pi 2001-09-01T00:00:00Z

Certainly no one could attack him here-and moreover he had a stroke of luck. Lord of the Flies 1954-09-17T00:00:00Z

Soaphead pursed his lips, and let his tongue stroke a gold inlay. The Bluest Eye 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z

The hen had moved close enough for Seth to stroke her feathers with one finger. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

Or have we just had a stroke of bad luck? The Diary of a Young Girl 1997-02-03T00:00:00Z

With one stroke from the brick, he punctures the can with the tip of the knife. All the Light We Cannot See 2014-05-06T00:00:00Z

She reached the hole, and squeezing down, leaving a trail of green-yellow slime, she slipped in, even as Sam hewed a last stroke at her dragging legs. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

First, we realized that finding the Toy Tinker’s truck, which had seemed like such an enormous stroke of luck, had in fact led us into the very trap we should have avoided. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH 1970-06-01T00:00:00Z

Frowning, she gently arranged her covers around Fleetfoot, and stroked the dog’s head for a moment. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

A man might well die easier after the army has given him just one such stroke of luck. All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

I brought one hand up to stroke his jaw, his chin, his chest and, without even thinking about it, moved even closer to him. From Twinkle, with Love 2018-05-22T00:00:00Z

She stroked the dog’s back but it did not lift its head. Messenger 2004-04-26T00:00:00Z

Above Ralph the clock began to grind and groan and strike, bong...bong, as if it had to summon strength for each stroke. Ralph S. Mouse 1992-08-01T00:00:00Z

Don Hume took the stroke up to thirty-five, then to thirty-six, then to thirty- seven. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

At first the freshmen stayed even with the varsity, rowing at the same stroke count. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The woman dragged the thin broom with slow, deliberate strokes. The Rock and the River 2009-01-06T00:00:00Z

He was decidedly opposed to majority rule, or “simple majoritarianism” as he sometimes called it, because that would end white domination in a single stroke. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

Sarah stroked them and scratched their ears and it was quiet again. Sarah, Plain and Tall 1985-04-25T00:00:00Z

His powerful tail moved in slow strokes as he slid through the water towards us. Bless Me, Ultima 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z

Buttercup went into her breast stroke, silently swimming away. The Princess Bride 1973-11-01T00:00:00Z

Riefenstahl had already captured good footage of the gold medal race, both from boats and from shore, but she wanted close-ups from the points of view of the victorious coxswain and the stroke. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

They told us that a blod clot had formed on my mother’s brain and that another paralytic stroke had set in. Black Boy 1945-01-01T00:00:00Z

He opened the cage to retrieve it and stroked her soft feathers. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

He stroked his beard as if he were stroking the fur of a small animal. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

Lizzie put her arms around her grandfather, and he stroked her hands. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy 2004-05-24T00:00:00Z

I saw the knotty bulge of steel-bound muscle, the piston-like jerk of the deadly hind claws, trying for the downward stroke that could disembowel a dog. Where the Red Fern Grows 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

She strides toward the water, and swims with brisk strokes far out to sea. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

He was practising strokes, looking very fragile under the light that came down above the billiard table. A Farewell To Arms 1929-09-02T00:00:00Z

I rub the instrument across her stomach again, and it flattens with each stroke, the extra skin and bulk beneath it melting away, her waist growing smaller. The Belles 2018-02-06T00:00:00Z

He reaches over the table to stroke my arm. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

Baba had always described my mother to me in broad strokes, like, “She was a great woman.” The Kite Runner 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

Much of the rest of it began to come to me in bursts of understanding, as if Patrice Lumumba were speaking in tongues and my ears had been blessed by the same stroke of grace. The Poisonwood Bible 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

“You wanted her branded then? Twenty strokes of the lash would be more in keeping with her crimes.” Chains 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

But after a half-dozen strokes of her brush, Kathy took in a quick breath. Zeitoun 2009-07-15T00:00:00Z

Instead, he placed a hand on Joe’s shoulder and stroked it. Mountains Beyond Mountains 2013-04-13T00:00:00Z

Imani strokes her sister’s fingers, then, gently, the side of her face. Blended 2018-10-30T00:00:00Z

While Miranda was told the proper way to apply it, in swift upward strokes beginning at the base of her throat, he spun the lipstick carousel. Interpreter of Maladies 1999-05-22T00:00:00Z

His father had been patient with the old man, listening sympathetically, nodding, stroking his cheek as if he were preparing a diagnosis. The Chocolate War 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

I give a short stroke, and another, and another. Blood on the River 2006-05-04T00:00:00Z

Then it was necessary for her to put him on his back and rock high with her spine arched while he, half-sitting now, his stomach muscles clenched, stroked her breasts and kissed them. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

He hewed a two-handed stroke and laid the last Orc before his feet. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

Meeting him last spring had been a stroke of luck. Throne of Glass 2012-08-07T00:00:00Z

In a daze, believing they were finally bearing down on the line, the boys threw their long bodies into each stroke, rowing furiously, flawlessly, and with uncanny elegance. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Faye burst into tears, and Kate sat on the arm of her chair and stroked her cheek and wiped her streaming eyes. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

She smiled and stroked my hair, like she was thinking about what to say. Wonder 2012-02-14T00:00:00Z

The city was organized around the Avenue of the Dead, a miles- long, north-south boulevard that cut straight as an ax stroke across the landscape. 1491 2005-10-10T00:00:00Z

I stroke the soft wool inside my gloves, so warm that not even my fingertips are cold. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

Four of them clung to her hair, opening and closing their wings in long, luxurious strokes, while the rest of them crawled delicately along her arms. Summer of the Mariposas 2012-10-20T00:00:00Z

The two stroke oars cast off the stern hawsers and vaulted over the gunnels to their benches. The Odyssey 1961-01-01T00:00:00Z

So I just show him the basic stroke and let him practice going back and forth in waist-high water. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

Anyway, could I return any of those powerful strokes I had seen Stan hit with such ease just moments ago? Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

She spent hours poring over them in her little corner of her family’s room, wondering who could’ve made those pencil strokes. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World 2018-03-06T00:00:00Z

For every stroke of the oars it pulled back harder. The Young Man and the Sea 2004-02-01T00:00:00Z

Malfoy sank back across her lap and allowed her to resume the stroking of his hair. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2005-07-16T00:00:00Z

“Luna,” Xan said, stroking the ears of the bunny, “do you know who this is?” The Girl Who Drank the Moon 2016-08-09T00:00:00Z

Eagerly they sat down beside him and stroked the silky fur. Mary Poppins 1962-10-27T00:00:00Z

She strokes Nat’s face gently, gently, and pushes the hair out of her eyes. Al Capone Does My Shirts 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

So if two boats carrying the same weight have the exact same stroke rate, the one producing more power per stroke will pull ahead. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The fat man stroked one of the prongs of his oiled yellow beard, a gesture Tyrion found remarkably obscene. A Dance with Dragons 2011-07-12T00:00:00Z

And indeed with that last stroke the malice of the mountain seemed to be expended, as if Caradhras was satisfied that the invaders had been beaten off and would not dare to return. The Fellowship of the Ring 1954-07-29T00:00:00Z

I stroked the soft blond fur on his head. October Sky 1999-04-01T00:00:00Z

He began stroking her prosthetic arm as though it were a fascinating new toy. Krik? Krak! 2015-12-15T00:00:00Z

What if she forgot who I was and thought I'd come to murder her and screamed for help and had a stroke? Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

On the flat under-side Frodo saw some scratches: ‘There seems to be a stroke, a dot, and three more strokes,’ he said. The Fellowship of the Ring 1954-07-29T00:00:00Z

This time the punishment would be more than harsh words or three strokes of a bamboo cane. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson 1984-10-12T00:00:00Z

Rishi opened his mouth to respond, but Max was standing next to them then, stroking his beard. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

Lauren was stroking their mom’s hair, holding the towel to the underside of her temple, and Maya forced herself to think straight, to not cry, to figure out this problem. Far from the Tree 2017-10-03T00:00:00Z

The pause was only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be. Lord of the Flies 1954-09-17T00:00:00Z

He stroked his forehead across her flank and sighed. Bridge to Terabithia 1997-10-21T00:00:00Z

No sooner had I plunged into the river and, with convulsive strokes, my hand still holding my musket above the water, set out to cross it, than I saw Olakunde following Bono. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves 2009-10-13T00:00:00Z

The leader moved ahead a little, trunk raised, and they could see how he propelled himself with powerful backward strokes of his lateral limbs. The Amber Spyglass 2000-10-10T00:00:00Z

She felt dimly that the true power was to withhold the death stroke, to let the creature go when you could have killed it. Tiger, Tiger 2004-10-04T00:00:00Z

Beto stroked the soft fur over the kitten’s nose, and it nuzzled his hand. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

I stroked the bonobo’s belly, and for a few moments he half closed his eyes. Endangered 2012-10-01T00:00:00Z

Alex heard her breathing slow as their dad stroked her hair and she gradually drifted off to sleep. Eleven 2014-01-06T00:00:00Z

It is a true objective fact, and if I had a stroke and forgot my date of birth I could establish it without any difficulty. The Invention of Science 2015-09-17T00:00:00Z

She leaned over and stroked Viper’s slick black fur. Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence 2022-03-22T00:00:00Z

She smiled at Elinor's descriptions, stroking the bindings before she put the books in the bag. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

She tried concentrating on the throbs, identifying them as waves, hammer strokes, razor edges or small explosions. Sula 1973-11-01T00:00:00Z

He could see Grover Clark’s backside in front of him, but he continued to hold Washington steady at thirty strokes per minute. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

He dropped the umbrella and stroked my hair. The Red Umbrella 2010-04-25T00:00:00Z

But coming on it now, from the water, with Lizzie stroking and angling her way to the point, Turner felt as if he was on the brink of a discovery. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy 2004-05-24T00:00:00Z

We rowed until the skin wore away from the ridges of our palms and we were certain we absolutely couldn’t row another stroke, but then did, and then another, and another. Hollow City 2014-01-14T00:00:00Z

He stroked his ears and nodded at me to go on. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky 2019-10-15T00:00:00Z

"I didn't betray you, you know," she says, stroking my hair. What the Night Sings 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

I thought maybe she’d had a heart attack or a stroke, it wasn’t out of the question, though she hadn’t been sick that I knew of. The Handmaid's Tale 1985-01-01T00:00:00Z

At the end of the stroke came a little flick of the head, a flourish. Middlesex: A Novel 2002-06-05T00:00:00Z

She swam a few strokes upstream, then trudged toward the rocky shore. Uglies 2005-02-08T00:00:00Z

Professor Ekwenugo stared at his bandaged hands as if he had only just realized that they meant he no longer had a long nail to stroke. Half of a Yellow Sun 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z

“You’re going to be fine,” said Mother, stroking the woman’s filthy hair. Between Shades of Gray 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

The doctors said Gram had had a stroke. Walk Two Moons 1994-06-30T00:00:00Z

It left the oarsmen sitting more upright at the end of the stroke, ready to slide forward and begin the next stroke more quickly and with less fuss and bother. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

The stroke he’d suffered in June caused his hands to tremble. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel 1994-09-12T00:00:00Z

Fearing that I’d suffered some sort of stroke, I staggered away in midconversation, retreated to my sleeping bag, and pulled my hat over my eyes. Into Thin Air 1996-08-01T00:00:00Z

Taisin stroked the flower with one finger and bent her head down close to it, trying to breathe in the air around the tiny growing thing. Huntress 2011-04-05T00:00:00Z

And I said, “I talked to Mrs. Alexander’s dog outside the shop. And I stroked him and he sniffed my trousers.” The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z

A drumbeat of Ghanaian rain keeps time as she paddles and strokes and kicks to the finish line. You Bring the Distant Near 2017-09-12T00:00:00Z

At this point, feeling more angry than frightened, Stella, with strong, sure strokes, slowly made her way to the bank of the pond. Stella by Starlight 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

He stroked the fine line of small dark hairs above his lip. The London Eye Mystery 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

While this is unfolding, the slim blond woman in front of me has been stroking Carmine’s arm with her finger, and now, still nestled against me, he is looking through his lashes at her. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

Softly I stroked her petals, thinking that I would take care of her, as I wished someone would take care of me. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z

Celia strokes her daughter’s hair, murmuring a worn lullaby, a poem she set to music once. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Piece by piece, as at the strokes of a dull godmother's wand, the old world sprang back into position. The Bell Jar 1963-01-14T00:00:00Z

A swift stroke she dealt, skilled and deadly. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

Beatrice stroked the boy’s cheeks and sadly looked up at Roy. Hoot 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Her fingers brush my face again, stroking back my hair. The Cruel Prince 2018-01-02T00:00:00Z

He had terrified me at first, but in time I had seen the way he spoke soothingly to the animals we brought him, stroking their fur until they nuzzled against his palm. The City Beautiful 2021-10-05T00:00:00Z

So anyway, Squelch was stroking something furry and moon gray in the crook of his elbow. Black Swan Green 2006-04-10T00:00:00Z

On the morning of October n, as we were preparing to go to court, we heard an announcement on the radio that the prosecutor, Oswald Pirow, had died suddenly from a stroke. Long Walk to Freedom 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

Vola lifted a finger to stroke the feathers bunched at her throat. Pax 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

Piggy paused for breath and stroked the glistening thing that lay in Ralph's hands. Lord of the Flies 1954-09-17T00:00:00Z

But the doors of iron and posts of steel withstood the stroke. The Return of the King 1955-10-20T00:00:00Z

Takes off his black felt hat, strokes his black mustache. Orphan Train 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z

He stroked the fur, and under it metal tubing came to light. The Martian Chronicles 1950-01-01T00:00:00Z

So I just stroke the neck of one of my horses and try not to be noticed. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

‘For talking in Prep,’ the Headmaster went on, ‘for trying to cheat and for lying, I am going to give you six strokes of the cane. ’ Boy: Tales of a Childhood 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z

He ran a finger up from her leg and gave her thigh a good stroke before she slapped his hand away with a laugh. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

He cuts through the water with broad strokes, like an Olympic swimmer, and I sit on the bank watching him. All The Bright Places 2015-01-06T00:00:00Z

Maybe she would sit down and stroke the gray fur. Son 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z

“Uh,” I said softly as I continued to stroke the dog’s silky fur. Out of My Mind 2010-03-09T00:00:00Z

Lennie looked at it for a long time, and then he put out his huge hand and stroked it, stroked it clear from one end to the other. Of Mice and Men 1937-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked his luxuriant white beard, infinitely sad, infinitely weary. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

I stroked her head for a moment; then threw her into the air and walked out into the field, kicking the brush as I went. My Side of the Mountain 1959-01-01T00:00:00Z

She needed to grab hold of Ess, needed to stroke her tangled hair, clutch her thin shoulder. Orphan Island 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

“No, don’t worry!” he replied, stroking her hair. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

The stories ranged from number one, the launching of Sputnik, to President Eisenhower’s stroke and the passage of the Civil Rights bill. Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High 1994-01-01T00:00:00Z

I chant, wanting the gentle strokes to continue forever. Inside Out and Back Again 2011-03-22T00:00:00Z

I stood in the belly of my shadow and listened to the strokes spaced and tranquil along the sunlight, among the thin, still little leaves. The Sound and the Fury 1929-01-01T00:00:00Z

Even in the dimness, Malcolm could see her face, sharp and anxious and angry, and he saw her bend forward to adjust Lyra’s blankets and stroke her face. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

Slowly, so the gate wouldn’t creak, she opened the goat pen and stroked the mother goat’s back. Tiger Boy 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z

Finnick has reached Peeta now and is towing him back, one arm across his chest while the other propels them through the water with easy strokes. Catching Fire 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z

“Go to sleep, baby,” he said, stroking my hair back from my face. The Help 2009-02-10T00:00:00Z

They pound the iron stake into the ground in a battery of perfectly timed strokes. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

When Deborah got to her doctor’s office, her blood pressure and blood sugar were so high, her doctor was amazed she hadn’t had a stroke or heart attack while we were in Clover. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

He pictured her there, stroking Catapult, gazing into the distance, maybe thinking about—him? Son 2012-10-02T00:00:00Z

He gathers himself, stroking a finger up to Alex’s cheek before jutting his chin out defiantly. Red, White & Royal Blue 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z

She found the braid coiled inside her mother’s old dress and slid her fingers along it, stroking the brittle fringe at the end. Out of Darkness 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z

She spoke quietly, stroking the nurse’s hair and wiping her tears. Salt to the Sea 2016-02-02T00:00:00Z

Her thin lips are painted an angry stroke of red, and in the night her auburn hair looks dark brown—almost black. Legend 2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

By some stroke of luck my father got his old job back. Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography 1986-01-01T00:00:00Z

Ash laughed out loud and stroked the horse’s neck; her black mane was soft as silk. Ash 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Directly in front of him, facing him, Don Hume was trying to conserve energy, setting a nice, methodical paddling pace for the boys behind him but not putting much into his own strokes. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

I think of how that mystery woman will have Kareem’s caring arms around her and how he will gently kiss her lips and stroke her hair. Love, Hate & Other Filters 2018-01-16T00:00:00Z

Samuel stroked the fork now tied to his saddle strings. East of Eden 1952-09-01T00:00:00Z

With a dreadful stroke Sam was wakened from his cowering mood. The Two Towers 1954-11-11T00:00:00Z

The cat was always in the chief’s lap, purring softly as the charo stroked its neck. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind 2009-09-29T00:00:00Z

He began to teach Conibear elements of the stroke that he had learned from Thames watermen in his boyhood and taught to the boys at Eton. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

She walked to a painted horse head and stroked its opalescent mane. When Dimple Met Rishi 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

With every perfectly executed stroke, the expanse between them and the now exhausted Cal boys widened. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 2014-05-27T00:00:00Z

Her hand falls down to gently stroke the Doorman, and all we do is sit there for about half an hour. I Am the Messenger 2002-01-10T00:00:00Z

It is what physicians must now do for patients with intractable cancer, severe rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and advanced cirrhosis. The Lives of a Cell 1974-01-01T00:00:00Z

I closed my eyes and felt his hands on my temples where the pulses beat, gently stroking, soothing me in the only way he could. Nectar in a Sieve 1954-01-01T00:00:00Z

Then there was how to hold the lance for the pant stroke. The Once and Future King 1958-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Sleeper grew quiet and stroked his chin thoughtfully. Aru Shah and the End of Time 2018-03-27T00:00:00Z

Bending over, she pawed at the well, stroking the wooden frame. Fablehaven 2006-07-30T00:00:00Z

The boy pats my shoulder, strokes my forehead and pulls the blanket back over me. What the Night Sings 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z

I’m sure I look like I’m having a stroke. Every Day 2012-08-28T00:00:00Z

“Great turnout,” he says, stroking his blue tie. Black Brother, Black Brother 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

He stroked the raven's head with his thumb, and the bird made a contented quorking sound. A Game of Thrones 1997-08-04T00:00:00Z

That there man kem over, and blessed but if he didn’t put in his hand and stroke the old wolf’s ears too! Dracula 1897-05-26T00:00:00Z

“I was down on the floor. You stroked my hair like I was a doll, but you didn’t have any dolls. No toys. You said, ‘Don’t cry, Mama. One Crazy Summer 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

He stroked his hair thoughtfully and fiddled with the ribbon around his ponytail. The Thief Lord 2002-09-01T00:00:00Z

He wished he could stroke Alice’s cheeks, but that image was too troubling altogether. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 2017-10-19T00:00:00Z

In his haste, the sword s descending arc missed me, but cut the brambles, so that I could rip myself away before he could take another stroke. Crispin: The Cross of Lead 2002-06-01T00:00:00Z

I wrote the inventory in big, clear strokes. The Light in Hidden Places 2020-03-03T00:00:00Z

It was not like stroking Jasper any more. Rebecca 1938-08-01T00:00:00Z

Once outside, Jonathan moved to the cow and stroked her about her ears, still searching about for a bucket. The Fighting Ground 1984-04-01T00:00:00Z

Mo bowed his head and stroked his hand over the barrel of the gun. Inkheart 2003-09-23T00:00:00Z

Then she reached over to stroke Dad’s cheek, a rare demonstration of PDA. If I Stay 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

The rowers bent their strong backs while a lad up beside the master beat the stroke on a drum. A Wizard of Earthsea 1968-11-01T00:00:00Z

I almost had a stroke when I rounded the corner and saw a tall, dark figure leaning against the side of my truck. Twilight 2005-10-05T00:00:00Z

“I don’t know,” I say, stroking her hair. Water for Elephants 2006-05-26T00:00:00Z

They wrap her in garlands of beads and stroke her face and eyelids with branches of rosemary. Dreaming in Cuban 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z

Nobody would doubt it if they’d been down there with him and her like I was after she had her stroke. Cold Sassy Tree 1984-11-02T00:00:00Z

He begins to unbutton, then to stroke, kisses beside my ear. The Handmaid's Tale 1985-01-01T00:00:00Z

A ghost wraps herself around me, strokes my hair, and puts me to sleep. Wintergirls 2009-03-19T00:00:00Z

He watched her face, and her eyes never shifted; they were with him while she moved out of her clothes and while she slipped his jeans down his legs, stroking his thighs. Ceremony: 1977-03-01T00:00:00Z

Henry’s hand comes up to stroke along his jaw, his sweaty hairline, and Alex settles himself between his legs, lets Henry lace the fingers of his right hand with Alex’s left. Red, White & Royal Blue 2019-05-14T00:00:00Z