The Girl and the Grove
Page 27
“It’s okay,” Leila said. She gently brushed the red paint away, watching the X fade into a pinkish color as it came off the tree, even if the bark around it lost a bit of its color with it. “I’ve got time.”
Leila closed her eyes, and pressed her bare hand against the tree, listening.
She sighed.
And the wind rustled.
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Manayunk
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WithouttheY Major Willow, two months old.
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Acknowledgments
The Girl and the Grove was a novel I’d been wanting to write for a few years. My darling wife, Nena, had been pushing me to write a novel about adoption and identity, to write about something so deeply personal to me.
“Write the tree book!” she would say. I thank her endlessly for giving me the courage to try. This book is here first and foremost because of her, and due to the following amazing people.
My rockstar agent Dawn Frederick and my amazing editor Mari Kesselring, for pushing me and this novel and for never giving up. And to the whole team at Flux, for believing in this book.
To Adi Alsaid and Zoraida Cordova for that retreat in Mexico. You are keepers of magic.
My Philadelphia writing group: Randy Ribay, Julie Leung, Lauren Saft, and Katherine Locke. Thank you for challenging me every step of the way while I fought with this story.
Good friends Blair Thornburgh, Preeti Chhibber, Swapna Lovin, Ashley Poston, Chris Urie, Mikey Ilagan, and Lauren Gibaldi for the constant pep talks. My P.S. Literary colleagues, whom I adore to pieces.
A huge thank you to McCormick Templeman, Melissa Albert, Heidi Schulz, Shveta Thakrar, Elizabeth Keenan, Laurel Amberdine, Alisa Hathaway, Rebecca Enzor, Brenna Ehrlich, Thomas Torre, Willa Smith, Natasha Razi, Leah Rhyne, Amber Hart, McKelle George, Jenny Kaczorowski, Nic Stone, Samira Ahmed, Kim Liggett, Sangu Mandanna, Hannah Siddiqui, Naseem Jamnia, Phillip Hilliker, and Bill Blume.
And to my amazing parents and my sister Lauren, thank you for giving me a story.
About the Author
Eric Smith is a young adult author and literary agent who grew up in the wilds of New Jersey. When he isn’t working on books (his and other people’s) he can be found writing about books for places like Book Riot and Paste Magazine. He lives with his wife, Nena, and their legion of small furry animals. Find him online at www.ericsmithrocks.com or on Twitter at @ericsmithrocks.