There are many people who have been doing the essential work to foster the conversation about the effects of systemic racism and to deconstruct that system. I’d like to thank in particular the educators and organizers who I’ve worked with directly and who have inspired me, including the folks involved with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, the Carle Institute, the White Privilege Conference, the Anti-Racist Alliance of Educators, my colleagues at the Calhoun School, and other independent schools and public schools; and teachers, librarians, and friends in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts—I love you and thank you and honor the change that you make in the world every day.
To my family—Maryanne Kiely, Tom Kiely, Niall Kiely, Trish Kiely, Heide Lange, John Chaffee, Joshua Chaffee—I love you all and I’m so deeply grateful for your love, encouragement, and support. Thank you all. And thank you especially Jessie Chaffee, my partner in all things in life, who teaches me about the expansiveness of the word love—this and everything for you.
Thank you Rob Weisbach, super-agent and super-friend, for your enthusiasm, intelligence, and your belief in me and my work. I hold our partnership close to my heart.
In the making of this book, I am extremely fortunate to work with the amazing folks at Simon & Schuster, in particular Caitlyn Dlouhy, an editor who works with such speed, intelligence, and care, I have to wonder if she didn’t anticipate the whole story before it was written. Thank you for making this book more the book it wanted and needed to be.
Thanks to Katy Hershberger, the tireless publicist who seems to be three people in one, and to whom I am especially grateful because she introduced me to Jason when she first put us on tour together last year. And thanks also to Ruta Rimas and Justin Chanda, for believing in my work from the beginning and welcoming me into the S&S family—here’s to many more years of partnership.
And most importantly, thank you, Jason. The process of making this book was inspiring and challenging, and I’m so deeply grateful to have worked through it together with you. Thank you for your friendship, because as we remind ourselves, it is always the friendship that matters most. Thank you for trusting me, working with me, and believing that with both rage and love we could write this book.
Jason Reynolds is crazy. About stories. He was awarded the 2015 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent for his debut novel, When I Was the Greatest, and that’s also crazy. He’s also the author of The Boy in the Black Suit, and in case you haven’t heard, it’s also . . . well, you get the point. Most importantly, Jason isn’t nearly as crazy about stories as he is about you. And that’s all that really matters. Check him out at jasonwritesbooks.com.
Brendan Kiely received an MFA from the City College of New York. His debut novel, The Gospel of Winter, has been published in eight languages, was selected as one of the American Library Association’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults titles of 2015, and was a Kirkus Reviews selection for the Best Teen Books of 2014. Originally from the Boston area, he now lives with his wife in Greenwich Village, New York. Find out more at brendankiely.com.
A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster • New York
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ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS • An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division • 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 • www.SimonandSchuster.com • This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. • Text copyright © 2015 by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds • Jacket photograph copyright © 2015 by Jessica Koscielniak; back cover photograph copyright © 2015 Thinkstock • Author photograph of Jason Reynolds by Kia Chenelle • Author photograph of Brendan Kiely by Gary Jason Cohen • All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. • ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. • Atheneum logo is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. • For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. • The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. • Book design by Dan Potash • The text for this book is set in Minion Pro.
CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-6333-1 • ISBN 978-1-4814-6335-5 (eBook)
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