“Yeah,” I said. “It’s Mum’s latest project. There are millions of girls around the world who don’t get to go to school. And not in a good way. Like they really want to go but they’re not allowed. And we have all this expensive stuff we don’t need. So, a pop-up shop seemed like a good way of raising money for them. Dad’s happy because we’re repairing The Brand. They’re still planning on using their platform for something. They haven’t decided exactly what. I’m just glad it’s not going to be me.”
“I’m glad they’re not going to totally forget about your brother, The Brand,” Carys said, and we both laughed.
As we reached the main street in town, I could see a line of people waiting outside the Creep Cabin. I mean, the Crêpe Cabin. I had to remember to not call it that today.
“What are they going to do with All About Eva?”
“They’re keeping some of the videos on there. Old ones mostly,” I said. “I don’t care so much about those. I mean, it’s not everyone who can say their hamster’s funeral has had 1.5 million views.” I smiled. “But they’re not making any new ones. They made that vlog about it and everything. All About Eva’s Final Vlog. So they definitely can’t go back on it.”
Maybe Mum and Dad would delete the rest of All About Eva one day. Or turn it into something else. You can’t totally erase stuff from the internet anyway. It carries on existing somewhere. Just like your memories in real life. But from now on I could live my life without millions of strangers living it with me. I’d even put one of my sketches on the Cool Wall. Miss Wilson loved it so much she photocopied it and and put it up in the art corridor. Although it was probably only a matter of time before Alfie Stevens stuck a sanitary pad on it.
“Shall we go in?” Carys said.
“I’m just waiting for Spud. He said to meet him here.”
Carys’s eyes widened. “Is that him?”
I turned, and there was Spud walking up the road wearing an avocado costume.
“Fits like a glove!” he shouted.
A month ago, I would literally have died seeing Spud walking towards me dressed as an avocado. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of embarrassing. And I did bash him in the stomach with my bag. It’s not like I’m perfect or anything. But that’s the best thing about having friends who like the real me. I don’t need to be perfect. I don’t even know who I am exactly. I don’t have everything in my life figured out. But that doesn’t matter. Not now I’m the only one watching.
TAMSIN WINTER grew up in a tiny village in Northamptonshire where there was nothing to do. She spent her childhood reading books and writing stories, mostly about cats (she loves cats so much that they still always appear in her books). She has a degree in English literature and creative writing, and has been teaching, travelling the world and daydreaming for most of her adult life, and now lives in Leicestershire with her son. She is passionate about writing stories that she hopes can make a difference to readers’ lives.
More than anything, I hope my stories teach young people to believe in themselves.
Because that’s what makes magical things happen.”
tamsinwinterauthor
@MsWinterTweets
@tamsinwinterauthor
An enormous thank you to Luigi and Alison Bonomi at LBA Books for your support and encouragement with this book. As always, you were there when it was just an idea (and a rather scrappy synopsis!). Thank you for helping me bring it to life.
To the utterly brilliant Sarah Stewart – there are not enough Likes in all of cyberspace to reflect how amazing you are. Thank you for your expert editorial guidance, your belief in this book, your kindness, and for spotting when I’d gone an æbleskive too far. I also owe a gigantic thank you to Rebecca Hill. Finding your “Ha ha!”s on my manuscript is a thing of joy. Thank you, both, for your unwavering enthusiasm in my stories, and for not batting an eyelid when my character has an exploding sheep’s lung in their backstory.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to Anne Finnis and Hannah Featherstone for your excellent (and kind!) editorial notes. Thank you to the phenomenal Charlotte Forfieh for your invaluable advice and guidance on Hallie’s Guyanese heritage. A million thank-you-hands emojis to Alice Moloney and Gareth Collinson for your super-strength proofreading-eyes.
I would also like to say a massive smiley-face thank you to the incredible worker-of-magic Charly Clements for your beautiful cover illustration. A billion starry-eyed-emoji thank yous to Kath Millichope for designing another Insta-perfect cover. And to Sarah Cronin for the super gorgeous inside pages.
A gazillion love-heart-eyes emoji thank yous to everybody at Usborne Publishing. The passion and dedication you give to creating children’s books is mind-blowing. I’m so proud to be part of it.
A super love-heart-eyes emoji shout-out to everyone at Usborne Books at Home. Your energy, support and enthusiasm for getting books into the hands of young people is mind-blowing. I hope you love Eva’s story too.
To the real DI Charles Edwards, thank you so much for helping me research cybercrime, and for answering my million questions about hacking, even before I understood it myself. I couldn’t resist naming Sergeant Edwards after you; I thought it only right I gave you a Danish pastry (albeit fictional!) after all your valuable help and advice.
Writing a book during lockdown was not easy, but it was made a lot more bearable by my amazing support bubble. Mum and Dad – thank you for the discos, cocktails, food parcels, baking competitions, virtual chess matches, and everything else you did to make lockdown entertaining. But mostly, thank you for the care you take of Felix. (Let’s not mention the haircut!) Thank you to my fabulous family for believing I could write another book. And for all the love and support you give me while I do it. Mainly in the form of crying-with-laughter emojis.
I also owe a very special thank you to my beautiful friend, Bettina, who I think must be responsible for at least 50% of my book sales. Thank you for your advice on all things Danish, and for your relentless support of my writing. You are truly exceptional and I can’t wait to see you in person again. I owe you the biggest aubergine burger!
To the centre of my universe, Felix. Your boundless energy, creativity, imagination, silliness and love lifts my heart. You’ve been the best lockdown buddy I could ever wish for. I love you infinity and beyond.
And finally, to my readers. I’ve been blown away by your love, kindness and enthusiasm for Being Miss Nobody and Jemima Small Versus the Universe. I hope Eva’s story takes a place in your heart.
When Rosalind is bullied at her new school for not speaking, she starts a blog – Miss Nobody; a place to speak up, a place where she has a voice. But there’s a problem... Is Miss Nobody becoming a bully herself?
“A wonderful book about finding one’s own voice.”
Ann M. Martin, author of THE BABY-SITTERS
CLUB
Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize
Jemima Small is funny and super smart...and not happy about being made to join the school’s “special” healthy lifestyle group – A.K.A Fat Club. But she knows that the biggest stars in the universe are the brightest. And maybe it’s her time to shine...
“An uplifting and heartening read to help inspire body confidence in everyone.” Sunday Express
First published in the UK in 2021 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England. www.usborne.com
Usborne Verlag, Usborne Publishing Ltd., Prüfeninger Str. 20, 93049 Regensburg, Deutschland, VK Nr. 17560
Text copyright © Tamsin Winter, 2021
Author photo © Andrew Winter, 2017
Cover illustration by Charly Clements © Usborne Publishing, 2021
The right of Tamsin Winter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
The name Usborne and the Balloon logo are Trade Marks of Usborne Publishing Ltd. This ebook is copyright material and m
ust not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or used in any way except as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or loaned or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
EPUB: 9781801312387
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