by Jen Doll
* * *
So many thanks to Ryan Harbage at the Fischer-Harbage Agency, my perceptive agent who always has my back. This book wouldn’t be what it is without my editor, Joy Peskin, who knows the value of a well-placed smiley face and is one of the best humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Molly Ellis, Mary Van Akin, Nicholas Henderson, and the team at Macmillan Children’s, I’m so lucky to have you.
Paige Clancy, meeting you in seventh grade changed my life. JP & CP, Anne, Lori, Eleanor, Pam, LT, Kristi, Julie G., Patty (and Alana), all you Decatur High peeps: I’m so glad I moved to Alabama, because it meant I got to become friends with you. Doris, Mike, and Raj: I left you behind in Illinois, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about you. George Gonzalez, wherever did you go? Are you in witness protection?
To all of my friends in New York City and beyond who listen and talk me down from various ledges on an ongoing basis: Thank you, always. Bob and Jane Stine, I’m grateful for all the real talk about publishing, and the lobster Cobb salads at the Redeye. Bij: You are such a good editor.
A huge thanks is due to those who read versions of the book and gave me their thoughts, especially Carolyn Murnick, Glynnis MacNicol, Mary Traina, Kate McKean, and Mary Kate Flannery; MJ Franklin, who made me cry with his wise and thoughtful notes; and Maureen O’Connor, who read an early version of this book and kept me going with her critique, then read a second version and helped me make it better. Jenny Fan, you were so patient and generous in talking to me as I worked out characters. Jo Piazza, thank you for reading while you were tending to a newborn! Soo Youn, that walk we had in Greenport really helped. Daisy and Quinn, y’all are the best at ideas; thanks for humoring me.
A shout-out to my therapist, who introduced me to Mary Oliver. Sari Botton, I adore you and Kingston Writers’ Studio, where much of this book was written. Sara Eckel, I can’t thank you enough for hosting me last year and for being you. Rumaan Alam, you were there on Twitter when I thought I couldn’t finish my revision; now I know I can do it. Colin Dickey and Nicole Antebi, it was lovely to spend time with the sweet, soft, and furry Alistair in your creative lair. He was a tremendous help! V—you’re the best. So are you, Eric Reid. Leila Sales, Katherine Howe, Jenny Han, Mary O’Connell, Adele Griffin, Melissa Walker, Tahereh Mafi, Jeffery Self, Richard Lawson, Meg Wolitzer, Jen Smith, Kat Brzozowski, and so many others—thanks for the YA support. Martin Wilson, I’m so excited you’re my newest Alabama friend.
A special thanks to Michael A. Steele, PhD, Professor of Biology and H. Fenner Chair of Research Biology at Wilkes University, from whom I learned some fascinating things about squirrel behavior (red and gray!), as well as Lucia F. Jacobs and Emily R. Liman for their 1990 research paper, “Grey squirrels remember the locations of buried nuts,” for the Princeton University Department of Biology.
Love as ever to my family; I wouldn’t be who I am without you. To future young adult reader Vivienne: I can’t wait to discover everything with you.
Ezra, I’m glad I found you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jen Doll is the author of the debut young adult novel, Unclaimed Baggage and the memoir Save the Date: The Occasional Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest. She’s written for The Atlantic, Elle, Esquire, Glamour, GQ, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, Vice, The Village Voice, The Week, and many other publications. She grew up in Alabama and lives in Brooklyn. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Prologue: Before
Part I: June
1. Doris
2. Nell
3. Grant
4.
5. Nell
6. Doris
7. Nell
8. Grant
9.
10. Doris
11. Grant
12. Nell
13. Daphne
14. Grant
15. Doris
16. Nell
17. Doris
18. Grant
19. Doris
20. Nell
21. Doris
22. Nell
23. Grant
24. Things to Do When You Lose a Suitcase: A List
25. Nell
Part II: July
26. Doris
27. Grant
28. Nell
29. Grant
30. Doris & Nell
31. Grant
32. Nell
33. Doris
34. Grant
35. Nell
36. Doris
37. Nell
38. Grant
Part III: August
39. Nell
40. Doris
41.
42. Doris
43. Grant
44. Nell
45. Doris
46. Grant
47. Doris
48. Grant
49. Nell
50. Doris
51. Grant
52. Doris
53. Nell
54. Grant
Doris’s Playlist
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Copyright © 2018 by Jen Doll
All rights reserved
First hardcover edition 2018
eBook edition September 2018
fiercereads.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Doll, Jen, author.
Title: Unclaimed baggage / Jen Doll.
Description: First edition.|New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018.|Summary: Told from three viewpoints, teens Doris, Nell, and Grant find friendship and the possibility of love while working in Unclaimed Baggage, a store that sells items that went missing during airline travel.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018001430|ISBN 978-0-374-30606-9 (hardcover)|ISBN 978-0-374-30607-6 (ebook)|ISBN 978-0-374-31220-6 (international edition)
Subjects:|CYAC: Friendship—Fiction.|Stores, Retail—Fiction.|Luggage—Fiction.|Lost and found possessions—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.D638 Un 2018|DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018001430
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].
eISBN 9780374306076
