To June, who learned that one book can change everything…But none of it would’ve been possible if it hadn’t been for her. —Ms. B.
The weight of her words covers me like quick-dry chocolate on a Dairy Queen cone. That she would want me to have this book…the one that started it all on that day that feels like ages ago. The corner is creased, and the Dogwood Middle library sticker remains. I snicker. Thief. This is a banned book if ever I’ve seen one. It’s so light in my hands. Misleading, really. The words are much heavier than anyone would guess.
So much has changed that I wonder if it will feel different when I read it again. If you’re one person when you read a book, and then you change, does the book become different? Do the words stretch to fit the new version of who you are?
I smile. The Velveteen Rabbit did.
All I need is one book. That’s all it takes.
And then I’ll start another library.
By the time I make it home, the sky is dark blue against the sparks shooting up from the fire pit in the backyard. There’s no ringing phone on the stone patio. Just the smell of firewood and the luminous stars, some shining more brightly than others. It’s like they’re winking at me with some secret the universe isn’t ready to tell. Beneath them, the yard is dotted with piles of leaves.
Dad leans back in the Adirondack chair, staring at the crumbling logs, his favorite mug brimming with coffee.
“Hey, Dad.” This silent treatment can’t last forever. “Yard looks good.”
He sips his coffee. “Your art teacher emailed me. Mr. Garcia. Someone from the high school visited and noticed your painting. Says you’re invited to take high school art next year.”
I can’t help but smile. Someone actually liked it? I don’t know what to say. I guess it really was all about the layers. And change.
“June, I know you love art, but I want you to give some serious thought to your future.”
It’s time to tell him. “I already have.”
He looks relieved. It’s like the stress rolls off his shoulders in waves. “And?”
“It’s dangerous, but I’ll be saving lives.” The stars are so bright, I could reach out and touch them. I think I might.
“Doctors Without Borders?” he asks.
“No. I’m going to be a librarian.”
The Crossover, Kwame Alexander
Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo
Doll Bones, Holly Black
Blubber, Judy Blume
Poppy Mayberry, The Monday, Jennie K. Brown
Sticks & Stones, Abby Cooper
Matilda, Roald Dahl
The Witches, Roald Dahl
Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo
Better Nate Than Ever, Tim Federle
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
George, Alex Gino
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Chris Grabenstein
The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney
EngiNerds, Jarrett Lerner
A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd
Rules, Cynthia Lord
Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
Bob, Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
Pax, Sara Pennypacker
The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling
Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life, Rachel Renée Russell
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, Megan Shepherd
Goosebumps series, R. L. Stine
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor
Wolf Hollow, Lauren Wolk
Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
The Makings of a Witch*
Wishtree, Katherine Applegate
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume
Beezus and Ramona, Beverly Cleary
Lily and Dunkin, Donna Gephart
Old Yeller, Fred Gipson
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
The Crucible, Arthur Miller
Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery
Monster, Walter Dean Myers
Junie B. Jones series, Barbara Park
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien
The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams
* Fictional title
Thank you to my editor, Caroline Abbey, for partnering with me to make this book better in every imaginable way. You get me, and I love working with you. To Michelle Nagler and Mallory Loehr, my publishers, a huge thank-you for taking a chance on a rebel librarian and a debut author. To Mary McCue, Emily Bamford, Hannah Black, Emily Petrick, and everyone on the publicity and marketing team, I am so grateful for everything you’ve done to promote this book. To Leslie Mechanic, cover designer, and Andy Smith, cover artist, your work is so beautiful that it made me cry when I saw it for the first time. Thank you so much for capturing the essence of June Harper. And to the entire team at Random House Children’s Books, thank you for working tirelessly on this book.
To my agent and friend, Rick Richter, I am so lucky to have you on this journey with me. You believed in this book from the very beginning. Thank you for everything.
Sarah Malley, you are my publishing fairy godmother. You plucked me out of the slush—twice—and changed my life with an email. None of this would have happened without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
This book is a love letter to all the educators and librarians who put books in my hands and nurtured my love of stories. Some in particular also thought I should be holding a pen, and they can’t begin to know what it has meant to me. To Dr. Susan Groenke, thank you for listening to my idea for this novel and telling me that I had to write it. To Dr. Bill Larsen, you once told me that if I finished one project, I’d finish everything. You were right. And a most heartfelt thank-you to Dr. Jo Angela Edwins, who sent me a Christmas card every year for fifteen years, each with a note to “Keep writing.” Those words of encouragement added up and meant quite a lot. Thank you all for the gentle nudges and kicks over the years.
A huge thank-you to Natasha Neagle and Kesi Thomas for reading my first draft and offering valuable critiques and feedback. I am so grateful to both of you for your love, support, and friendship. Many thanks to Amber Rountree for answering my school board questions. And to Tricia Holman Gillentine, Dr. Stacey Reece, Dr. Rachelle Savitz, Dr. Elizabeth MacTavish, Dr. Geri Landry, Jessica Mangicaro, Danielle Selah, Crystal Braeuner, Joanna O’Hagan, Katie Bailey, and Olivia Hinebaugh, thank you for so many encouraging words over the years. I heard them all.
To Matt and Leigh Ann Jernigan, thank you for the pep talks, support, and guacamole when I needed it most.
Finally, an enormous thank-you to my sweet family, who survived seasons of my daydreaming while I wrote and revised this novel. And most especially, thank you to my mom, who read it first.
Like librarian Ms. Bradshaw in Property of the Rebel Librarian, Allison Varnes has fought for her students. She taught English in special education for eight years, and once had to convince administrators that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Harry Potter books were not endorsements of witchcraft. She has a PhD in education from the University of Tennessee. And like her book’s heroine, June, Allison is a former marching-band geek. When she’s not writing, she howls along to t
he Hamilton soundtrack with a quartet of Chihuahuas named after the Peanuts gang.
Find her on Twitter at @allisonvarnes or on Facebook at facebook.com/​allisonvarnesauthor.
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