Jennifer Gooch Hummer‘s book, Girl Unmoored, opens with a hilarious first line – “Jesus was in his underwear.” In honor of her unforgettable opening line, we asked Jennifer to share with us her all-time favorite opening lines.

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

“129 lbs. (but post-Christmas), alcohol units 14 (but effectively covers 2 days as 4 hours of party was on New Year’s Day), cigarettes 22, calories 5424.”

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

“I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a dumpster.” 

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

“Once there was a tree… and she loved a little boy.”

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

“Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature.”

The Fault in out Stars by John Green

“Late in winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.”

Pinterest P.S. – Girl Unmoored inspired this nautical-themed Pinterest board!