Wilder
Page 22
Meili said that once. I think she did.
Meili. Where were we? The Bear story. Hot and bothered.
Right. Her body.
Jail is a lot of things, and here’s one. It’s the exact symmetrical opposite of having sex with Meili. Everything jail drains, sex with Meili drenches.
I pace, and I practice.
I still have seven months (and change) in here, plenty of time.
You need something to live for in jail. A lot of guys, it’s their family, wanting them to see their son free and clear.
For me, it’s this conversation. Somewhere—Fat Deer Key? Hong Kong?—Meili opens the door, and I start the conversation. I know every possible swerve. I know my own swerves. I know I’m not vicious. I’m not vicious, and I’m not terrifying.
The door opens, and I see your face, Meili.
I see your face, and I can put down the Bic.
Cause I’m not gonna hurt anyone.
I’m not gonna hurt anyone.
I’m not.
Want more?
Secret letters from Meili begin at andrewsimonet.com/dearbug.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Gratitude to my agent, Rebecca Stead, true artist and advocate, and to The Book Group.
To my editor, Joy Peskin, superb collaborator who asks the right questions, and to the team at FSG: Nicholas Henderson, Aimee Fleck, Kylie Byrd, and Jennifer Sale.
To Kate Klimo for twelve years of patience and support. Look, Kate, I made a book!
To Amy Smith and David Brick, my artistic family. You made me the artist I am.
To Jesse Tiger and Nico Wolf, brilliant readers and storytellers. Someday, I’ll let you read this.
To the choreographers, dancers, directors, makers, and thinkers of my artist community: Nichole, Christy, Heather, Kate, Niki, Christina, Devynn, Mark, Dan, Whit, Jaamil, Matt, Dito, Jeb, Anna, Mark, Rick, Lorin, Pierce, Melissa, David, Scott, Byron, Maiko, Ishmael, Tere, Cynthia, Richard, Susan, Olase, Meg, Kelly, George, Makoto, Debbie, Nick, Ashley, Michaela, Raph, David, Bill. I can’t imagine myself without you.
To Kathleen and Tom for forty-eight years of love, and for accepting my swerves.
And to my first reader, Elizabeth. [perfection]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Simonet is a choreographer and debut YA writer in Philadelphia. He co-directed Headlong Dance Theater for twenty years and founded Artists U, an incubator for helping artists make sustainable lives. He lives in West Philly with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two sons, Jesse Tiger and Nico Wolf. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Text copyright © 2018 by Andrew Simonet
All rights reserved
First hardcover edition, 2018
eBook edition, November 2018
fiercereads.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Simonet, Andrew, author.
Title: Wilder / by Andrew Simonet.
Description: First edition.|New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018.|Summary: The lives of Jason Wilder and Meili Wen intersect in the delinquent-proof room for in-school suspension, known as the Rubber Room, and Jason’s growing, fierce protectiveness of Meili explodes into violence when her chance to return to her wealthy lifestyle in Hong Kong—and his opportunity to escape poverty, loneliness, and the past—is threatened.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017045252|ISBN 9780374309251 (hardcover)|ISBN 9780374309282 (ebook)
Subjects:|CYAC: Juvenile delinquency—Fiction.|Student suspension—Fiction.|Chinese—United States—Fiction.|Violence—Fiction.|Family problems—Fiction.|Dating (Social customs)—Fiction.|High schools—Fiction.|Schools—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S565 Wi 2018|DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017045252
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eISBN 9780374309282