by Laurent Linn
Superpowers: towering talent, x-ray insight, limitless energy derived from the planet’s very core, nuclear-powered kick-you-in-the-butt-when-you’re-full-of-self-doubt designer boots, hugging arms of titanium
Superhero name: CAPTAIN MARVELOUS
Real name: David Gale (a.k.a. The Reviser, a.k.a. The Friend)
Superpowers: faster than any e-mail, more perceptive than Sherlock, able to expertly edit massive manuscripts in a single bound (with intense respect for every word)
Superhero name: THE LITERARY LEAGUE
Real name: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
League members: Jon Anderson, Justin Chanda, Liz Kossnar, Sonia Chaghatzbanian, Dorothy Gribbin, Martha Hanson, and many, many other superamazing superhumans
Superpowers: megadazzling design, Kryptonite-proof copyediting, maximum-warp production, laser-beam marketing, supernova-like publicity, heat-seeking sales, all-around awesomeness
Superhero name: AMBASSADOR FABULOUS
Real name: Brenda Bowen (a.k.a. The Not-So-Secret Agent)
Superpowers: bubble of calm, voice of reason, support of steel
Superhero name: THE TRIBE
Real name: Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (scbwi.org)
Tribe leaders: Lin Oliver, Stephen Mooser, and the L.A. Jedi Team
Superpowers: limitless inspiration spells, rechargeable enchantments of encouragement, formidable deflector shields to protect tribe members against naysayers everywhere
Superhero name: SANCTUARY
Real name: Chris Spinelli
Superpowers: most potent empathic powers in the galaxy, singular ability to wield the Dome of Tranquillity, mighty laugh of disarmament
Superhero name: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Real names: Lizzy Bromley, Katrina Groover, Phil and Hilda Jackman, Stephen Linn, Peter and Marlene Linz, Angela Matusik, Danielle Obinger, Carmen Osbahr, Marjorie Shik, Caroll and Debi Spinney, Polly Stone, my Muppet and Sesame Street families, and many, many other superheroes of mine
Superpowers: incredible strength and support over the years in helping me boldly carry Draw the Line to journey’s end
Superhero name: THE MIGHTY READER
Real name: YOU!
Superpowers: singular abilities to tell your own tales, find your inner truths, and change the world
© Christopher Spinelli
Laurent Linn’s love for puppets led him to become an Emmy Award–winning puppet designer and builder in Jim Henson’s Muppet Workshop, creating characters for various productions, including the Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island films, and eventually becoming creative director for the Sesame Street Muppets. His love for art led him from his hometown of Dallas, Texas, to New York City, where he currently art directs and designs books for kids and teens. And his love for transformative stories (and superheroes) led him to write and illustrate Draw the Line, his first novel. Visit him at LaurentLinn.com and on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
DrawTheLineNovel.com
MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS
SIMON & SCHUSTER • NEW YORK
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen
authors.simonandschuster.com/Laurent-Linn
Margaret K. McElderry Books
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.
Copyright © 2016 by Laurent Linn
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS 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 Sonia Chaghatzbanian and Irene Metaxatos
Jacket design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian and Laurent Linn
The illustrations for this book are rendered in Prismacolor pencil on vellum paper with digital shading.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Linn, Laurent, author.
Title: Draw the line / Laurent Linn.
Description: New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, [2016] | Summary: “A teen boy survives a hate crime against another gay student through his art”— Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015029314| ISBN 9781481452809 (hardback) | ISBN 9781481452823 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Gays—Fiction. | Artists—Fiction. | Hate crimes—Fiction. | High schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Violence. | JUVENILE FICTION / Art & Architecture.
Classification: LCC PZ7.L66295 Dr 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015029314