Hannah Smart, Operation Josh Taylor (13 page)

I
want to send some love and thanks to a few people who helped me along the way.

Shannon Whibbs, my wonderful editor at Dundurn Press, for not only loving Hannah Smart as much as I do, but for believing in me and for helping me become a better writer.

The ever-inspiring Kat Kruger, for your advice, encouragement, and friendship.

Tom Cleary and his grade five class at Sir Charles Tupper Elementary for all of your kind words and wonderfully insightful comments and suggestions. Truth be told, I can't thank you enough for unanimously hating my original title, and even more than that, for giving me a new one. You guys rock!

Anne Shea and her grade six class at Basinview Drive Community School for your constant encouragement and love.

My parents, Ruth and Jim Hartling, for teaching me to follow my dreams with courage and determination.

James Fitzpatrick, for begging me to write the next book, and for always understanding and hardly ever complaining when you hear me say, “Not now, Mommy's writing!”

My husband, Tom, for your patience and love, and for always understanding and hardly ever complaining when you hear me say, “Not now, Mommy's writing!”

And finally, I want to thank Erin Fitzpatrick and Emma Jerrott for your tireless efforts in making sure Hannah would be authentic and not a total loser.

Coming in Spring 2016, Hannah Smart is
On a Slippery Slope
! Here's a sneak peak!

N
ot
too long ago, the mere thought of Maple Ridge would've caused my stomach to twist in knots, but now that I'm here I can see that it's really not that bad. Actually, meeting Gabby, my new next-door neighbour, and going to the Josh Taylor concert (an incredibly amazing, dream-come-true experience) was the best start I could've ever imagined to the rest of my life. Yes, everything has been
perfect
so far — my new house is, like, crazy gorgeous, my new friend, Gabby, is awesome, and the concert was beyond wonderful. But even though everything seems great, I still have this niggling feeling that just won't go away. It's hard to explain, but it's like it has all been a little
too
perfect. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'm worried about tomorrow. I hate feeling worried, I mean, it's a dumb, useless emotion, right? But I can't help it. What if Gabby isn't in my class? What if the kids are all horrible? What if this move turns out to be the worst thing ever? I just can't shake it … this feeling of doom. And then there's the matter of A.J. I can't begin to tell you how much I've been obsessing over that wacky mystery.

Anyway, tomorrow, good or bad, I'll know everything.

Copyright © Melody Fitzpatrick, 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

All characters in this work are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Editor: Shannon Whibbs Design: Laura Boyle

Cover Design: Courtney Horner and Laura Boyle

Cover Illustration © Evan Munday

Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Fitzpatrick, Melody, author

Operation Josh Taylor / Melody Fitzpatrick.

(Hannah Smart)

Issued in print and electronic formats. ISBN 978-1-4597-3134-9 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3135-6 (pdf).-- ISBN 978-1-4597-3136-3 (epub)

I. Title.

PS8611.I8925O64 2015 jC813'.6 C2015-900593-0

C2015-900594-9

We acknowledge the support of the
Canada Council for the Arts
and the
Ontario Arts Council
for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the
Government of Canada
through the
Canada Book Fund
and
Livres Canada Books
, and the
Government of Ontario
through the
Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit
and the
Ontario Media Development Corporation
.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

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