Poem 5
And even though 365 days from now is a big who-knows,
if Ms. Dacie’s door will still be open,
if Dad’s will be closed,
if they’ll still need space,
or need more,
whether they’ll be that one out of four.
And even if you never know
if the seeds you plant and water
will grow up tall,
I at least know that I’ve got a team.
Frankie, Amelia, and Ana.
Coach Okeke and Mrs. Baldwin.
Nestor.
Izzy and Coach Scottie.
Ms. Dacie, the kids from her house, and Claudia.
Mom and Dad.
Guthrie.
And they’re cheering for me.
And that’s a fact.
Acknowledgments
It takes a team to write a book, and I am so grateful to have such an incredible group of smart, supportive people on my side.
I am especially appreciative to have the parents I do—who encouraged my childhood dream to be a writer, and are celebrating every moment of it with me. They, themselves, are an excellent team and have taught me the importance of picking great teammates.
My agent, Stephen Barbara, cheered Rain from the beginning. His confidence in me and in this story, and his excited phone calls and quick responses, have given me that extra bit of courage that a writer needs. Plus, after twenty-six emails back and forth, he came up with the perfect title.
I am beyond lucky to have a teammate in my editor, Erica Sussman. At each stage she armed me with an extraordinary guide to tighten this story into a stronger version. She is so smart and insightful and has made me a better writer.
A writer’s manuscript passes through many hands that make it into a beautiful book. Thank you to the whole crew at HarperCollins for the care you’ve taken with Right as Rain.
Writing can sometimes make you feel, as Rain would say, like a one-and-only, because when it really comes down to it, you just have to write. You. Pen. Notebook. Laptop. Write. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have someone who shares in the process with me daily.
Kamahnie, you are my home team. You have allowed all my characters to live right there with us in our apartment. You talk about them like they’re old friends, like they’re family, and really care how they’re faring at the end of each day. You have been there, cheering and listening, and following me paragraph by daily paragraph, through the exciting beginning, and murky middle, and all the way to the finish line. I’m so happy I get to share all this, side by side, with you. And that’s a fact.
And to Miles and Paige—I have done my very best writing heartbeat to heartbeat with you. And your hearts will always be the inspiration for me to be my very best.
About the Author
Courtesy of the author
LINDSEY STODDARD is also the author of Just Like Jackie. She was born and raised in Vermont, where she grew up loving hikes along the Appalachian Trail, playing in the snow, and eating Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She spent twelve years living in NYC and taught middle school English at MS 324 in the neighborhood of Washington Heights. Lindsey received her MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and now resides back in Vermont with her husband and two children.
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Copyright
RIGHT AS RAIN. Copyright © 2019 by Lindsey Stoddard. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2019 Alexandria Neonakis
Cover design Sarah Nichole Kaufman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stoddard, Lindsey, author.
Title: Right as Rain / Lindsey Stoddard.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2019] | Summary: “Eleven-year-old Rain must adjust to a new normal after her brother dies and her family moves to New York City”-- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018034251 | ISBN 978-0-06-265294-2 (hardback)
Subjects: | CYAC: Grief--Fiction. | Moving, Household--Fiction. | Running--Fiction. | Family life--New York (State)--New York--Fiction. | Friendship--Fiction. | New York (N.Y.)--Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Family / General (see also headings under Social Issues). | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Emotions & Feelings. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S7525 Ri 2019 | DDC [Fic]--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018034251
Digital Edition FEBRUARY 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-265296-6
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-265294-2
1920212223CG/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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Right as Rain Page 19