Cecil Castellucci Quotes

Silent is the ruined land.
Man is brutal
and the rain does not wash away
the pain
or rid the distant memory.
It makes it glisten.

— Cecil Castellucci

“I took that smile and I put it right where the hole in my chest was. It was better than coffee, or chocolate, or a perfect pirouette. I clutched it and held it tight.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“Non est ad astra mollis e terris via.
That's my philosophy. Its a quote from the past. There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.”

— Cecil Castellucci

Is there any other way to be? I mean, this is it. This is my body, my soul; I gotta live with it. I'd better get comfortable. I plan on taking it for a long ride.

— Cecil Castellucci

“It's a fact of life. Hearts are always hurting. And yet they still keep pumping.”

— Cecil Castellucci

I want to make my mark,' he says.
But what target, I wonder, are you going to hit?

— Cecil Castellucci

“Hello and good-bye are not as simple as everyone thinks.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“A shame really, because putting the right book in the right kid's hands is kind of like giving that kid superpowers.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“I smile a lot. I heard someone say once that it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown, so i'm trying it out.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“Everyone got older but forgot to grow up.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“Sometimes my feelings get so big that I just want to swim out into the darkness. Just jump off the end of the world. Sometimes I want to dig, right down to the bones of everything. Sometimes when you dig, you dig up stuff you might not want to find. But that's where the good stuff lies.”

— Cecil Castellucci

I was born in Hell. But I am no demon. I am beige and colorful. I was quiet in this room. But I am learning to be loud. Can you hear me? I will make my mark, wherever i am. It is my space. I'll make it mine. I choose. I choose.If I voice my truth, no one loses.

— Cecil Castellucci

“My name is Lake Suck and this is my manifesto. I swear to be myself. To think for myself. I will not be led by social conventions. I will make my own way through the world. I will live on my own terms without conforming to society's expectations of who they think I should be, I will be the visible minority.
By being myself, I will help to save the world. I swear to always look, listen, learn, think, ask, act, and speak for myself.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“My life sucks. So I shave my head.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“There's a beast in all of us, you know,' Jasper said.
'No,' Tessa said.
'Yes, a monster right inside of us all,' Jasper said.
They wondered what theirs looked like. They faced each other and blinked while making faces to try to capture the phantom.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“Were we all like that? Were we all trying to change how we looked on the outside to match how we felt on the inside? Were we all trying to change how people saw us?”

— Cecil Castellucci

“It's been three days
still haven't heard from you.
My heart lives underwater
breathing for you.
But you break apart
my tiny heart,
giving me no chance
to start something with you.
I dove into the pool
I dove in
hoping to swim
now I'm drowning.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“Who needs a stupid grampa-loving, book-reading, good-smelling boy who I like to talk to?”

— Cecil Castellucci

“When you are lost, go back to the beginning.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“It was amazing what I could remember about myself when I retraced my own steps.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“Weekday morning routine:
Take shower.
Assemble perfect outfit.
Apply makeup.
Pull hair into bun. Secure with glitter pencils.
Accept twenty-dollar bill from Dad.
Pick up latte and creamy chocolate brioche from cafe.
Drive to school the long way.
Listen to sad music way too loud.
Nab choice parking spot under tree.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“The parental units take no notice of me as I make my leave. They are too busy having a discussion.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“There are many places that are not made for staying," Heckleck said. "They are too harsh, too hard, and too far away from whatever you call home. You don't root where you don't have to, unless you're unluck.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“But the dead, they have ghosts. Ghosts are very useful for haunting. Never forget the dead, Tula. They have their function. They sometimes speak at the most useful or inopportune times.”

— Cecil Castellucci

“It makes me sad that not every book is good,' I said. 'Not every book can be loved.'
'But when I pull a book off a shelf, and examine it, turning it this way and that, inspecting the cover, flipping through the pages and glancing at the words as they flash by, a thought here and a sentence there and I know that there is potential between those pages for love. Even if in my opinion the book is bad, someone else may find it good. Isn't that like love?”

— Cecil Castellucci

It was nice to see a Human smile. So many things looked like smiles but weren't. Sometimes, to feel genuine kindness, I would stare into a mirror and smile at myself, just to remember what one looked like.

— Cecil Castellucci