League of Strays (29 page)

To my extended writing community and the Gango (fellow clients of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency), who are always present with advice, support, and love. Gratitude goes to my legal expert, Tyler Williams, and to the kind souls who have stepped up with valuable critiques over the years: Beryl Vaughan, Kay Allan, Trudie Scott, Laurie Huff, Osnat Oron, and Martin Hauser.

To my grandfather and fellow writer, Darrell Huff, who passed along a love of words and who once gave me a “job” that provided me with the time to launch my career and life’s passion.

Immense gratitude goes out to Janice Schulman, my first editor. Her thoughts helped shape this book, and her belief in me, along with crossed fingers and toes, helped make it all happen.

Lastly, a heartfelt thanks to my family. To my daughter, Annalise, for her “plot-hole” spotting ability and valuable teen insights. Although it took cold, hard cash to get her to read it for the fifth time, I appreciate her dedication! To my youngest, Julia, a writer at heart and master of plots, who never stops thinking and sharing; and to my husband, Robert, who has worked hard and sacrificed much to buy me an invaluable stretch of time to pursue my dreams.

In
League of Strays
, Charlotte comes to realize that revenge is a dangerous game and that those who seek it can turn into bullies themselves. Being bullied, no matter what the motivation, is never OK.

When I was growing up, bullying mostly happened at school. But today, because of unlimited access to the Internet, cyberbullying has become a serious, twenty-four-hour-a-day problem. If you or someone you know is the victim of bullying, please try to confide in a trusted adult.

Here are some places to seek help and information.

These two sites are full of resources to help deal with bullying, cyberbullying, and other teen concerns.

http://www.stopbullying.gov/
http://us.reachout.com/wecanhelpus/

The Trevor Lifeline is a 24-hour national crisis and suicide prevention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning teens.

1-866-4-U-Trevor

The GLBT National Youth Hotline provides telephone and e-mail counseling on all issues related to being a gay teen. Volunteers are in their teens and twenties.

1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)
[email protected]

The print version of this book was designed by Maria T. Middleton. Its production was overseen by Alison Gervais.

L. B. SCHULMAN
lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters. This is her debut novel. She has forgiven (almost) everyone who made her high school years difficult. Visit her online at
www.lbschulman.com
.

JACKET PHOTOGRAPHY © 2012 JONATHAN BECKERMAN

JACKET DESIGN BY MARIA T. MIDDLETON

115 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
www.amuletbooks.com