Pretty Amy
Page 25
Sitting on the swings like I used to, with Joe next to me, pumping our legs until the chains creak, it’s easy to believe that someday I will feel just like AJ unlocked from his cage.
That the bars I’ve put around me will fall away.
That I will feel like that little girl again, finally and beautifully free.
Acknowledgments
I am thankful to so many people who have supported me on the journey to publication.
To my agent, Susan Finesman, who asks for things on my behalf that I would never have the guts to ask for, and who dealt with my debut-author neuroses with kindness, patience, and humor. Without you, this book would not be.
To my editor, Stacy Cantor Abrams, who saw something in Amy and in me and encouraged me at every step of the way to cultivate it. For loving Amy as much, if not more, than I do. Without you, this book would not be what it is.
To my husband, Tim, who has been with me on this writing roller coaster for a decade and never once told me to stop. Without you, I would not be. I love you.
To my sister, Marcy, who has been a steady cheerleader or a steady shoulder to cry on depending on the day and sometimes even the time of day.
To my parents, who always believed I had talent and never once told me to pick a new major.
To my professors, classmates, and amazing “Blue Spark Ladies” at the Inland Northwest Center for Writers, who taught me what it means to be a writer and who read versions of this book way, way before it was this book, and liked it even then.
Finally, to everyone at Entangled Publishing for making my dream come true.
Lisa Burstein
Pretty Amy
Lisa Burstein
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Twenty-eight
Twenty-nine
Thirty
Thirty-one
Thirty-two
Thirty-three
Thirty-four
Thirty-five
Thirty-six
Thirty-seven
Acknowledgments