I want to be one of those authors who kids read and say, “That’s so true. That’s exactly what it feels like.” Who makes the topsy-turvy emotions, swirling thoughts, and riotous ups and downs immediate and real. Who captures the things that are important to kids — the observations, the realizations, the friendships and petty little battles, the cliques and social webs, the family dynamics, the things you yearn for, the things you can’t have and the things you can’t even name. All of that. I want to write stories that kids can see themselves in.