by Susie Salom
I sneak a look at Marcy and see that her eyes are all filled up with water—like a great, buttery tear might just blop on her shoulder if she even thinks about blinking.
I know just how she feels.
Once the song is over, the whole bank is really quiet even though it’s filled with people. Someone moves a chair and it makes kind of a trumpet sound even though we’re all sitting on carpet. And right in the space between the first song and the next, Marcy leans close to me and whispers with her sweet, yawny voice in my ear.
“Now that was worth fighting for.”
My thanks and total devotion, first and foremost, to the two most radiant points in my galaxy: my beloved husband, Shawn Gay, who daily improves the quality of my life by a magnitude of about five billion, and our beautiful daughter, Belinda, who really wanted a whale emoji by her name in the dedication.
My thanks, love and continued devotion to my excellent parents: Juan Salom, equal parts dad and cutman (bend your knees) and the perennially elegant Martha, of the ‘Thank you, Master’ salad (con el favor de Dios). To my role model and sister, Sandra Froehle, whose bubble comments on every manuscript I’ve written are, bar none, the raddest gift I have ever received—or will ever receive—in exchange for sharing my work. You rock my heart, güera musiquera. To my gorgeous baby sister, Sarah Moring, whose cotton-candy adoration of Kyle means the world to me. You fill my heart with your joy and implacable zeal for life, princess. To Captain John Salom, Jr. and Paul ‘the Duke’ Salom, the two most generous and supportive brothers in the Milky Way—no exaggeration. As loving, indivisible families go, se aventaron.
A huge thank you wrapped with a bow to Adrienne Allen Mirzayan, Lorena Hughes (Thank you, Elizabeth!!!!!!) and Lynda ‘Lynnie’ R. Young, admired friends and loyal brain trust over the last decade. The three of you are brilliant, beautiful women without whose encouragement at pivotal moments my career as a novelist would have given up the ghost. Thanks, also, to the students of Radford School in 1999, 2000 and 2001; to Raul ‘Bibi’ Peláez; Steven R. Cranmer; Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Rose Stanton; Nicki ‘Nick’ Elson; E. T. Smith; Luanne ‘Lu’ Smith; Savannah Kuper; Kim Karras; Magdoline ‘Mags’ Asfahani; Southwest Writers of Albuquerque and Chelsea Gilmore.
This book would not be bound and on the shelves were it not for the faith of my agent, John M. Cusick—an unflagging champion and a master at providing context at the intersection of art and commerce—and Cheryl Klein, an incredibly dedicated, conscientious and hardworking editor. I lift up my cup to you both. My gratitude toward the two of you knows no bounds.
Gracias, del alma, a Toñio, Chole, Rafaél y Amelia, con orgullo y sonrisas sobre recuerdos de una juventud feliz, pero tambien con lagrimitas tiernas y abundantes. I miss you.
Finally, fedoras off to The Incredible Bulk, Sophia Loren, my fat girl and inspiration for every feline character I have ever written.
Blessings, without number, on each of your luminous heads.
And Sandra cried …
SUSIE SALOM loves sunny, chirpy days, strawberry tamales and the color blue. She once purposely got on the wrong bus to keep talking to a new friend on her first day of sixth grade and has been following her adventuresome heart ever since. She lives in the West Texas town of El Paso with her husband and daughter and their obese cat. You can find her online at susiesalom.com or drop by and say hi on Twitter at @susie_salom.
Text copyright © 2016 by Susie Salom
All rights reserved. Published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and the LANTERN LOGO are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Names: Salom, Susie, author.
Title: Kyle finds her way / Susie Salom.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2016. | ©2016 | Summary: On her first day in sixth grade Kyle Constantini punches a bully who is bothering Marcy, a deaf classmate—and so begins her tumultuous year at Georgia O’Keeffe Middle School, in a different school than her twin brother, with new friends, new enemies, and the regional NAVS competition to come.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016008852| ISBN 9780545852661 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
Subjects: LCSH: Middle schools—Juvenile fiction. | Twins—Juvenile fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Juvenile fiction. | Friendship—Juvenile fiction. | Deaf children—Juvenile fiction. | Bullies—Juvenile fiction. | Orienteering—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Middle schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Twins—Fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Deaf—Fiction. | People with disabilities—Fiction. | Bullying—Fiction. | Orienteering—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S253 Ky 2016 | DDC 813.6—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016008852
First edition, October 2016
Jacket photograph by Michael Frost, © 2016 Scholastic Inc.
Author photograph courtesy of Susie Salom
Jacket design by Mary Claire Cruz
e-ISBN 978-0-545-85268-5
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