What I Like About Me

by Jenna Guillaume

  We laughed a lot. Kissed a bit. Had so much fun. You might even say we had the TIME OF OUR LIVES.

  (Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Again. But come on, this was totally a cheese-worthy moment too.)

  As the music wound down, I said, ‘This doesn’t mean you’ve won, by the way.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ Beamer said with a smirk. And then he leaned in close and whispered his name in my ear.

  I grinned. ‘Don’t think this means we’re friends now.’

  ‘Definitely not, Maisie Martin.’ And he pulled me in for one last kiss before we joined the others.

  So yeah. Life really isn’t like the movies, DJ.

  Sometimes, it’s better.

  Thursday, 9 February

  Maisie,

  Your dedication to your journal really is quite impressive considering your initial reluctance. There are some matters I would like to discuss with you, however. Please see me after class.

  – Ms Singh, the sadistic sumbitch

  Acknowledgements

  Sitting down to write these acknowledgements feels just like winning an Academy Award. Only instead of being on stage in Hollywood wearing a glamorous designer gown, I’m in the middle of nowhere in Tasmania wearing tracky daks from Kmart. Close enough.

  There are a lot of people I want to thank. First of all, a big thank you to my agent, Danielle Binks, for being such a great champion of me and my book from the moment we talked about it in line at a Melina Marchetta event. Thank you for speaking my language (predominantly Pacey Witter GIFs) and for being ever-ready to bounce ideas around, offer feedback and suggestions, and give me romance recommendations. Thank you also to Jacinta di Mase and Natasha Solomun for rounding out the best agenting team a girl could ask for.

  Thank you to everyone at Pan Macmillan for taking excellent care of me. I’m especially grateful to my publisher, Claire Craig, who totally got me (and Maisie) from the moment we met and who has been wonderful to work with ever since. I also can’t emphasise enough how thankful I am for my amazing editors, Ali Lavau and Georgia Douglas, who have made this book infinitely better. Thank you also to proofreader extraordinaire Susin Chow, and to publicity superstars Yvonne Sewankambo and Charlotte Ree for giving this book the best possible start.

  Thank you to Astred Hicks for designing the perfect cover for Maisie’s story. I totally judge books by their covers (I’m not even sorry) and I’m thrilled to have nothing but positive things to say about my very first one.

  Thank you to my colleagues past and present who have been incredibly supportive and encouraging of my extracurricular dreams. I’m especially indebted to Nicola Harvey, who was the very first person (other than my husband) to read Maisie’s story, and who gave me all the advice, support and praise my fragile little writer soul needed.

  Thank you to Sue Whiting for convincing me to follow my heart story and telling me that it was all going to be okay. I’m also grateful to the Australian Writers’ Centre team for giving me the kick up the butt I needed to just write the thing already.

  Thank you to Tony Broderick, Claire Low, Angela Hartman, Natalia Wikana and Sarah Ayoub, who each read this book in the early stages and offered me generous and insightful feedback on the authenticity of my characters. Anything that isn’t right is all on me – but they allowed me to pick their brilliant brains and made this book so much stronger because of it.

  Thank you to Diem Nguyen for reading multiple drafts and giving me such smart and thoughtful feedback – and also for treating questions like ‘Is this name swoony-worthy enough?’ with the gravitas they deserved. And thank you to Amanda Salles for being there throughout this whole journey – for vent sessions, cheer sessions, chat sessions and, most importantly, brunch sessions. I’m also grateful to Rebecca Finn for being a fantastic sounding board and for always having the right GIF on hand, and to Kathleen Cusack for a decades-long friendship that never wavers, no matter the distance or time between us.

  Thank you to Melina Marchetta for your words, your wisdom, and for reading this book and saying such lovely things about it. Thank you also to Claire Christian and Clementine Ford for your generosity and support. It’s the highest compliment to receive praise from writers and women I admire so much.

  Thank you to all the readers, writers, booksellers, librarians and other bookish people who have embraced this book from day one. I’m also grateful to the many people in various online communities who have helped me in ways big and small.

  Now we’re getting to the part where the music should be playing me off – but IT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT and I’m all teary.

  My family. The Zampas and the Rowlands, and all my assorted in-laws – thank you for your love and support.

  Adam Zampa, thank you for being the best little brother I’ve ever had.

  Darren Zampa, thank you for being my dad and for being so proud of me.

  Alison Zampa, thank you for everything. Thank you for being my earliest reader and champion, for always believing in me, and for remaining my number one fan to this day. Thank you for knowing long before I ever thought it was possible that I could write a book, and for encouraging me to reach for the stars. And, of course, a big thank you for your love of Patrick Swayze.

  Chris Guillaume, thank you for being my high-school sweetheart, my husband, my best friend. Thank you for waking me up at 6 am to write, for making me smoothies in the morning and dinner in the evening and tea whenever I demanded it, for trying to make as little noise as possible when I was in writer mode, and for talking me through meltdowns of both the book and non-book variety. Thank you for being the first to read Maisie’s story, for taking it seriously, and for always being supportive and proud. And thank you for reminding me to stop saying ‘just’.

  Ollie, thank you for your constant, snuggly, fluffy companionship while I write. Of course, you’re a dog and will never read this, but that’s never stopped me before.

  Shirley Rowlands, I wish you could see me now. I know you would be tickled pink. I wouldn’t be the person I am, or the storyteller I am, without you. Thank you for Arnold (Argen) Schwarzenegger, cups of tea, biscuits, The Bill, Beatrix Potter, movie marathons, secret gardens and so much more.

  Lastly, thank you to anyone who reads this book. I hope you love it (no pressure!), but more than anything, I hope it helps you love yourself a little bit more. Just like Maisie, you deserve nothing less.

  About Jenna Guillaume

  Jenna Guillaume is a journalist and author who grew up in Wollongong and now lives in Sydney.

  Jenna is currently editor-at-large for BuzzFeed Australia, where she writes about very important things like pop culture, identity, feminism, social media, and Chris Hemsworth’s biceps.

  Previously, she spent more than half a decade in the features department of Girlfriend magazine, writing about everything from bullying and body image to bad kisses and boy bands.

  What I Like About Me is her first novel.

  This is a work of fiction. Characters, institutions and organisations mentioned in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct.

  First published 2019 in Pan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd

  1 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000

  Copyright © Jenna Guillaume 2019

  The moral right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.

  Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is availa
ble from the National Library of Australia http://catalogue.nla.gov.au

  EPUB format: 9781760785413

  Cover design and illustration: Astred Hicks, Design Cherry

  Typeset by Midland Typesetters

  The author and the publisher have made every effort to contact copyright holders for material used in this book. Any person or organisation that may have been overlooked should contact the publisher.

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