Tell Me Something Real (31 page)

My wise and wonderful editor, Reka Simonsen, whose thoughtful edits made this novel so much stronger. Thank you for understanding the Babcocks with such keen insight. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in bringing them to life. Endless appreciation to the all-star Atheneum and Simon and Schuster team, especially Wendy Sheanin.

I had the tremendous fortune of sharing writing with some amazing writers. In school: my comrade Julie Young-Ordeñana, and my teachers Neeli Cherkovski, Juvenal Acosta, Kim Addonizio, and Edie Meidav. Brenda Tucker and Renee Sedliar, you both are as generous as you are talented. The Kicking Muse gang, who saw the earliest drafts: Frank Dowling, Joe Franklin, Brian Boies, Diana Donovan, Katie
Antheil Boyd, and Caroline Chung-Wipff. I never would have finished this book (and so much more) without my Iowa writing group, our group's name too profane for even Adrienne: Jennifer Wilson, Catherine Knepper, and Kali VanBaale. Friends and writing partners for life. #hairtothechair

My family, the Rongerudes and the Yenters, who supported me with endless cheers and encouragement. My sister, Robyn, this book is for you. And most of all, my daughters, Lulu and Tillie, who are my inspiration and my heart.

A shout-out to the friends who shared the journey: Kelsey Crowe, who as my soul sister and fellow author shared every moment and every step. Pearl Piatt and Glen Price, for their decades of love, humor, and support. Andrea DeLara, whose friendship, wit, and heart know no bounds. Louis Lee, my human guide. Amy Tang, Gabe Jenkins, Stacey Murphy, Reena Krishna, Michelle Kuroda, and Hope Whitney (my fact checker).

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2016 by Calla Devlin

Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by Jill De Haan

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The text for this book is set in Chaparral Pro.

First Edition

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Devlin, Calla, author.

Title: Tell me something real / Calla Devlin.

Description: First edition. | New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers,

[2016] | Summary: “The three Babcock sisters must travel to a Mexican clinic across the border so their mother, ill with leukemia, can receive alternative treatments. The sisters' world is about to shatter under the weight of an incomprehensible betrayal . . . an illness far more insidious than cancer that poisons their home”—Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2015039224

ISBN 978-1-4814-6115-3

ISBN 978-1-4814-6117-7 (eBook)

Subjects: | CYAC: Sisters—Fiction. | Mothers and daughters—Fiction. |Leukemia—Fiction. | Betrayal—Fiction. | Family secrets—Fiction.

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.D488 Te 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

LC record available at
http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039224