Always, Abigail (26 page)

1.
Pom-poms wasn't the best thing about sixth grade.

(It ended up being the WORST thing.)

2.
Being Gabby's friendly letter partner wasn't the worst thing about sixth grade.

(It ended up being the BEST thing.)

3.
Gabby and I love to talk even more than AlliCam and me. We've already had four sleepovers, and we haven't gotten one bit of sleep at any of them because we always stay up all night talking.

4.
Gabby's dad will be getting out of jail in less than two months. He's finished a whole book of cartoons, and Gabby and I are going to turn some of them into stories to tell the kindergartners. Imagine how surprised he'll be.

5.
Having Old Hawk for homeroom and language arts wasn't the worst part of sixth grade either.

(It ended up being the other best part.)

6.
Sister rituals don't really work. (Thank goodness.) AlliCam and I don't really talk much anymore, which is fine by me. Sometimes you just have to move on.

7.
Kip Thompson might be one of the
cutest
guys in school, but he isn't the
coolest
. (He only thinks he is.)

8.
When Jackson Dawber doesn't carry around his highlighter-microphone, he's not that bad of a guy.

(The kindergartners actually love him.)

9.
Laughter isn't just the best medicine; it's the best way to turn lemons into lemonade.

(Which happens to be the cure for pretty much everything.)

10.
A lot of things in sixth grade didn't turn out the way I planned. They turned out even better.

Dear Miss Hendrick,

I have to admit, when I got to sixth grade, I wasn't too happy to be in your homeroom—for lots of reasons. But now, it's the end of the year, and I can honestly say, you're one of my favorite teachers—for lots of reasons.

Your friendly letter assignment, which I HATED in the beginning of the year, “literally” (aren't you proud I'm using one of your vocab words?) changed my DESTINY, so thank you!

Always,

Abigail

1.
Do the characters in
Always, Abigail
remind you of people you know? If yes, who and why?

2.
In what ways does Abigail change from the beginning of the book to the end?

3.
Why is Gabby Marco so unaffected by the teasing and bullying?

4.
Why does Jackson Dawber bully people? Why does he stop? Why do the pom girls tease and bully? Do you think they'll stop?

5.
In what ways are Abigail and AlliCam alike? In what ways are they different?

6.
Which character in the book would you like to be friends with?

7.
How does Abigail feel about Old Hawk at the beginning of the book? How does she feel at the end? Why do her feelings change?

8.
Do you think Abigail and Gabby would have become friends without the friendly letter assignment? At what point in the story do you think they really become friends?

9.
Why does it take Abigail such a long time to do the right thing? Do you think that happens in real life?

10.
Do the events in
Always, Abigail
remind you of things that have happened in your own life or at your own school?

For more discussion questions, classroom activities, and a Common Core-aligned educator guide, visit
www.sourcebooks.com/resources/educators-guide.html
.

In true Abigail fashion, eight important thank-yous:

1.
To Dominique Raccah for building a company like Sourcebooks where an author like me gets to watch her stories become beautiful books.

2.
To all my wonderful friends at Sourcebooks for all you do to make my books become more than I ever thought they could be. I'm so happy to be doing books with all of you!

3.
To Aubrey Poole, my editor, for loving Abigail the same way she loved Ratchet and for knowing exactly how to help me make my characters and their stories the best that they can be. I absolutely LOVE working with you!

4.
To Holly Root, my agent, for giving Abigail and me a chance. If it weren't for your belief in me and your persistence with my work, Abigail would still be a bunch of lists and letters tucked away in the bottom of a drawer. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being in my corner with me!

5.
To my writing friends who make me a better writer and a better friend.

6.
To my family who always supports me and now tells everyone who will listen that I am a published author.

7.
To Ron and Chaylee for all the pom-poms of love and support you always wave for me. I couldn't do any of this without you, and I wouldn't even want to.

8.
To God for blessings beyond what I could ask or imagine! My heart overflows with gratefulness.

Nancy J. Cavanaugh lives in Florida with her husband and daughter. She spends summers eating pizza in her former hometown of Chicago.
Always, Abigail
is her second middle grade novel. Her debut,
This
Journal
Belongs
to
Ratchet
, received the Gold Medal in the Florida State Book Awards and earned a
Kirkus
starred review.

Like Abigail, Nancy enjoys writing lists. Her secret to turning an unproductive day into a productive one is writing a few things on her to do list that she has already accomplished just so that she can cross them out.

In the past, Nancy's lists helped her stay organized as an elementary and middle school teacher and also a library media specialist. Presently, her lists help her organize her life as a writer. Nancy enjoys doing school visits and writing workshops as well as sharing teaching ideas with librarians and teachers at conferences. Visit her at
www.nancyjcavanaugh.com
for more information.