Michelle Baldini - Unraveling

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unraveling

unraveling

michelle baldini lynn biederman

poems by gabrielle biederman

delacorte press

Published by Delacorte Press

an imprint of Random House Childrens Books a division of Random House, Inc.

New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright 2008 by Michelle Baldini and Lynn Biederman Poems copyright 2008 by Gabrielle Biederman All rights reserved.

Delacorte Press and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on request.

eISBN: 978-0-375-84900-8

The text of this book is set in 12-point Goudy.

Random House Childrens Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

v1.0

for our mothers

For my mother,

For my mother, Linda

Judith West Edelman,

Cameron, for reflections

who always says

of inspiration, for being

Even spots can become

herself and for never

stripes. Its hard to say

giving up.M.B.

who held the baton out

first, but Im so grateful

that we are each holding

on to an end.L.B.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the following people: Stephanie Lane, our superperceptive and endlessly receptive edi-tor at Random House, for finding Amandas story compelling enough to shape and shepherd it to fruition. From the start, your dedication to this project has been far beyond the call of duty. No amount of thanks is enough.

Ginger Knowlton, our agent, for being diplomatic, accessible and crazy nice, just for starters. Thank you for all your advice, and the times were asked who our agent is, when we get to toss our heads back and say, Oh, Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown. Excuse us while we fluff our hair.

Lisa Pazer, for her tireless assistance from the original manuscript, through many revisions and permutations, to its final landing.

You are an incredible wordsmith and have the best laugh in the world. Unraveling would not be what it is without you.

Judith Rovenger, for being that professor. Unraveling began because of you and your young adult literature classes. Your belief in us, encouragement and niceness are the foundation and karma of this book.

Gaby Biederman, Unravelings poet, for also being our #1 YA reader and critic extraordinaire.

Lynn also expresses heartfelt thanks to: My daughter, Gaby. It was your conviction about my ability that kept me going. Thank you forever for that, for all the times we obsessed together over a single word or sentence, and for sharing your spirit, soul and delicious quirkiness with meI hope you always will.

My son, Brad. Thank you for being such a fan, for your unwaver-ing belief that Unraveling would be published, and for always asking me about my day. Some people say that teenagers think the world revolves around them. Theyve never met the likes of you.

My dad, for proudly calling me auteur, auteur, Auntie M. for coining Quilly and my brother, for anointing me Pencil Neck

since we were kids, and making me laugh, even when my neck was strained from hunching over my keyboard.

My phenomenal friends, for making me feel like a famous author.

Bestseller shmestselleryouve all enriched my life more than any blockbuster could; to Robin Scheman, for analyzing everything including my bio-shots as only you could; Martha Frankel, for Celeste on my porch and you on decklike Hats & Eyeglasses, Ill always surface for you; Dave Toy, for fortune cookie work needed yesterday; Karyn Jenkins and Dinah Baken, for design advice at a moments notice; and Paula Desperito and everyone at Bedford Free Library, for their overwhelming enthusiasm.

Finally, to my husband, Eric, stellar neck and back rubber; sous-chef; primary grocery shopper, procurer and provider of all things needed and desired; steady-Eddie source of reason, balance, friendship and love: Thank you, my honey, for seeing me through this.

Look out, though... anothers on the way.

Michelle would like to express her undying gratitude to thefollowing people:

First, to my husband, Artie Baldini, for holding down the fort in the rain, and for late-night snacks, morning coffee, inexhaustible neck rubs, eleventh-hour errandsand mostly for listening with tired ears. Very tender thanks to my children, Stephanie, Michelle, Matthew and David, for their commitment and devotion to family: Thank you for enduring an absentee mother at times and for helping me realize my dream. I hope you fulfill all of yoursbig and small.

To the best in-laws ever, Brigida and Arturo Baldini, who remind me that I am the engine. Special thanks to Anna Morellimy godsendfor doing everything whenever I needed it. And to Gina Baldini for her endless support and love.

Hugs to my siblingsCarey Young, for sharing stories with a flash-light past bedtime, and Trista Karl and Ronnie Cooper, for believing in their big sister. To Dave Cameron, for your enlightenmentMisfit Land should never exist.

Marion Tomas-Griffin, for keeping me grounded all the way from California; Rose Hoey, for her sound direction early on; and my morning, afternoon and nighttime sounding boardsJulie Trego, Raquel Berroteran and Caroline Mourad.

Carolyn Brodie, one of the most amazing women I knowthank you for your counsel and for possessing the most miraculous gift of revealing the very best in the lives you touch.

Finally, I am forever grateful to Cecily Truett, for making me believe I was a leading star, even when I was the zaniest creature that ever walked this earthevery budding woman should be so blessed as to have you by her side. Thank you for your honest reviews on the original manuscript and for getting Amanda out of the cabin.

We would also like to thank Kenny Holcomb, Unravelings talented designer; Steve Ross, kind mentor; David Levithan, for his encouragement; and everyone at Delacorte Press.

l

The first Chinese fortune I collected the summer I hooked up with Paulthe guy some might consider my firstread: T h e s m a rt t hi ng is t o

p r e p a r e f o r t h e u n e x p e c t e d .

I should have taken it more seriously. Fortunes can be like little instructions for life; they may not fit yours at that particular moment, after that particular meal of kung pao chicken, but eventually they will. Trust me on this.

My mother, Susan Sturtz Himmelfarb, could best be de-scribed as uptight, controlling and ultraorganized, like an efficiency expert, which I think is actually a real job for some people. The Captain, my mother, prides herself on being able to complete tasks faster than anyone. Im the total oppositea march-to-the-beat-of-my-own-drum, at-my-own-pace type. The Captain says Im impulsive and that I dont

do things the way the world does.

She has issues with the length of my hour showers, how I pull back my curtains or sleep on top of the duvet cover, put socks on before pants and makeup before shirt, how I tie my laces (still do the two-loop thing), open an envelope, hold a pencil, pour a drink and blow my nose. Even how I spray on 2