{book news: rylee swanson earns a star!}

Hello Friends!

The Science of Friendship hits bookshelves near the end of August, but we’re already hearing good things from readers. My first and favorite mention remains Afoma Umesi from Reading Middle Grade who mentioned a favorite quote on her Instagram page. She chose one of my favorite Rylee scenes, and I was excited to hear she enjoyed it.

Meanwhile, Kirkus is renown for its rigorous anonymous reviews, and I am deeply gratified to have received a nod from them. What I love, love, LOVED was how the reviewer talked about the growing Rylee did in this book. Our girl is hit with some tough stuff, but it, in turn, makes her turn and look at herself. (I mean, eventually – nobody gets into self-reflection right away.) According to the review, in THE SCIENCE OF FRIENDSHIP you can find “the gentle modeling of emotional-regulation skills such as self-compassion.” I need to sit and appreciate how smart that makes this book sound. I don’t read reviews unless my editor sends them to me, but this one – this one makes it feel pretty worthwhile.

You can read the it here for yourself, and I can’t wait ’til you meet Rylee this summer.

Meanwhile, Happy Weekend!