Just Stop It, Jo Knowles

Come on, Jo Knowles.

Stop pretending to be a grown-up.

Because I know better.

You are a teenager.

You MUST be. 

Because you just NAIL the teen voice in your amazing new book.

Read Between the Lines

I mean, no grown-up I know writes:

"Simon!" I yell, just to harsh his mellow.

 or can create such achingly realitic teen characters...
....like Sapphie...

Whatyoulookinat
She said it loud and tough. Fast. Like the four words were one.
Whatyoulookinat

 I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK.

 Jo Knowles and I go way back.

We knew each other online and then at a conference somewhere (they all moosh together for me)....

she was going down the escalator...

...and I was going up the escalator.

We recognized each other and smiled and waved and that was the best we could do.

But then at an NCTE conference in 2009 we finally got to meet properly. (Or maybe it was the same conference. They all moosh together.)

Jo Knowles (right) and me

THEN in 2011, we were on a panel together at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA.

We corresponded by email about our presentations and we each confessed that we were freaking out a little bit.

Ever since then, we have affectionately referred to ourselves as the Freak Sisters.

And, by the way, we survived that presentation.
 No freak-out necessary.

[Note: I blurred her signature because I don't like to post signatures online.]

Read Between the Lines is AMAZING.

I loved it SO much.

From the flap copy:

The voices of seemingly ordinary teenagers speak loud and clear of the complex dance that is life in a small town. Over the course of a single day, these characters orbit one another in their innocent attempts to understand and be understood.

So run, don't walk, and get this book.

And, yo, Jo....high five, Freaky!!!