Just as long as he didn’t let go.
For more great reads and free samplers, visit
LBYRDigitalDeals.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It takes a team of creative geniuses (present company excluded, of course) to make a book happen, and I’m so blessed to have been surrounded by just that kind of team as I wrote these pages. At the helm: Lanie Davis, Sara Shandler, Les Morgenstein, and Josh Bank at Alloy, and Cindy Eagan, Elizabeth Bewley, and Pam Gruber at Little, Brown. Each of you has made this process everything it should be: unbelievably fun, challenging in the best possible ways, and so very exciting. Thank you for giving me the space to grow these characters as I needed to, and for stepping in to offer your wisdom when I needed that, too.
Thank you to Rebecca Friedman at Hill Nadell. You’re a talented agent, a sounding board, a therapist, a brilliant mind, and a friend. To Kristin Marang for your website genius, your kindness and enthusiasm, and for answering my e-mails so cheerily, even when I clearly should have directed my questions elsewhere. Thanks to Mara Lander and Jessica Bromberg at Little, Brown for spreading the word in such cool, creative ways. To Carolyn Sewell, who executed the most perfect cover for this book. I’m continually amazed by your work. To Beth Clark, Liz Dresner, and Aiah Wieder for working your collective magic and producing such a beautiful book. And a huge thank-you to Katie Schwartz for getting this party started.
As always, my love and gratitude to my family: to my mother, Mimi, who is the single most encouraging presence in my life. To my father, Hugh, who’s always there to lend an inspired sentence or two (“It was a dark and stormy night…”). To my beautiful sister, Molly, and to her husband and my new brother, John—who bought every copy of Braces and Glasses off the shelf before anyone knew it was out. That’s awesome. Also, next time maybe you could leave a book or two for someone else.
Finally, my deepest thanks to the teachers and administrators of Episcopal School of Jacksonville, who shaped me as a writer and a human being, and who gave me a home away from home. You know who you are and what you’ve done. Not just for me, but for every student who has come through your doors. This book is for you.
mh
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1: CUE THE NEW TRACK
CHAPTER 2: CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK STAR AND A HARD PLACE
CHAPTER 3: CURSE THE CODE
CHAPTER 4: IF A WHALE LEAVES THE DOCK AT 8 A.M., TRAVELING 12 MILES PER HOUR, THEN WHAT IS THE THEME OF THE SPRING DANCE?
CHAPTER 5: LOFTY FEELINGS
CHAPTER 6: SIXTH SENSE SAYS…
CHAPTER 7: SMELLS LIKE TEEN RIVAL
CHAPTER 8: A BIG STARFISH IN A LITTLE POND
CHAPTER 9: SHRINK RAPT
CHAPTER 10: THESE HALLS AREN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US
CHAPTER 11: WE INTERRUPT THIS REGULARLY SCHEDULED REHEARSAL FOR SOME BREAKING NEWS
CHAPTER 12: AND FOR DESSERT, AN AWKWARD HEART-TO-HEART WITH THE PARENTAL UNIT
CHAPTER 13: COFFEE AND CONSPIRACY
CHAPTER 14: SHEDDING STEVIE
CHAPTER 15: JUST ADD WATER
CHAPTER 16: TSUNAMI
CHAPTER 17: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
CHAPTER 18: AFTERSHOCK
CHAPTER 19: STEP INTO MY TORTURE CHAMBER
CHAPTER 20: I’LL TELL YOU MINE IF YOU’LL TELL ME YOURS
CHAPTER 21: PAIGE’S CAM-PAIN
CHAPTER 22: THE ICE IS GETTING THINNER
CHAPTER 23: THE MARQUETTIAN CANDIDATE
CHAPTER 24: DRESSING IS NINE-TENTHS OF THE LAW
CHAPTER 25: IT’S COMPLICATED!
CHAPTER 27: FATE IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD
CHAPTER 28: HARMONY
CHAPTER 29: A LITTLE GLOSS AND A MAJOR POP STAR SHOULD DO IT
CHAPTER 30: COUNTDOWN TO MARQUETTE AT MIDNIGHT
CHAPTER 31: LEVI WAS HERE
CHAPTER 32: NORAH JONES AND TAPERED SWEATS ARE THE FIRST SIGNS OF TROUBLE
CHAPTER 33: AFRAID OF THE DARK SIDE
CHAPTER 34: HONESTY IS A DISH BEST SERVED WARM. WITH FROSTING.
CHAPTER 35: HALLMARK SHOULD REALLY MAKE A CARD FOR THESE THINGS
CHAPTER 36: AND THE ELECTION GOES TO…
CHAPTER 37: SOME ENCHANTED EVENING
CHAPTER 38: THE FINAL INSTALLMENT
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Alloy Entertainment
Cover art by Carolyn Sewell
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Poppy
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
lb-kids.com
Poppy is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.
The Poppy name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Produced by Alloy Entertainment
1700 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
“Go Your Own Way” by Lindsey Buckingham (New Sounds Music). All rights reserved.
Hand-lettering by Carolyn Sewell
First ebook edition: December 2013
First published in hardcover in September 2012 as How to Rock Break-Ups and Make-Ups by Little, Brown and Company
ISBN 978-0-316-28579-7
E3