Proof Of Proofs!

That's an uncorrected proof of my new book that Toby is posing with in the photo--an ARC, or advanced reading copy, of Imperfect Spiral.  It's my first novel for young adults (and for adults who are no longer young) and it's about--let's see, do I have the one-sentence thing down yet?--a teenage girl, the young boy she babysits one summer, and the aftermath of a tragic accident that takes the boy's life.  The book will be published by Walker/Bloomsbury in July.Those yellow Post-its you see sticking out are all the places where I've found things to correct.  If I gave you a side view of the book you'd see even more dog-eared (pun intended only a little bit) pages, evidence of still more stuff that will be changed before the book goes out into the great world.  Typos, mostly, and small refinements of language.Then there's the Author's Note at the end.  The book is mostly woven around themes of friendship and fear and loss and forgiveness, but there's also a thread relating to the topic of immigration.  In particular, this aspect of the story concerns how communities respond to undocumented immigrants.  And in this year of possibly great changes in U.S. immigration law and policy, I want readers to understand where the goings-on in Imperfect Spiral fit in this evolving landscape.  So there's a great big Post-it note on that page. . . .Temporary blemishes aside, I can't wait to get this book into readers' hands.  I want you to get to know my characters--Danielle, Humphrey, Becca, Justin, Adrian, and Marissa--as I know them.  So booksellers, book bloggers, reviewers--head on over to the "Contact" page here to let me know if you'd like to receive an ARC.  I'll let my publisher know and then hopefully one will show up in your mailbox.But it won't have Post-its plastered all over it.