Property of the Rebel Librarian

by Allison Varnes

  To June, who learned that one book can change everything…But none of it would’ve been possible if it hadn’t been for her. —Ms. B.

  The weight of her words covers me like quick-dry chocolate on a Dairy Queen cone. That she would want me to have this book…the one that started it all on that day that feels like ages ago. The corner is creased, and the Dogwood Middle library sticker remains. I snicker. Thief. This is a banned book if ever I’ve seen one. It’s so light in my hands. Misleading, really. The words are much heavier than anyone would guess.

  So much has changed that I wonder if it will feel different when I read it again. If you’re one person when you read a book, and then you change, does the book become different? Do the words stretch to fit the new version of who you are?

  I smile. The Velveteen Rabbit did.

  All I need is one book. That’s all it takes.

  And then I’ll start another library.

  By the time I make it home, the sky is dark blue against the sparks shooting up from the fire pit in the backyard. There’s no ringing phone on the stone patio. Just the smell of firewood and the luminous stars, some shining more brightly than others. It’s like they’re winking at me with some secret the universe isn’t ready to tell. Beneath them, the yard is dotted with piles of leaves.

  Dad leans back in the Adirondack chair, staring at the crumbling logs, his favorite mug brimming with coffee.

  “Hey, Dad.” This silent treatment can’t last forever. “Yard looks good.”

  He sips his coffee. “Your art teacher emailed me. Mr. Garcia. Someone from the high school visited and noticed your painting. Says you’re invited to take high school art next year.”

  I can’t help but smile. Someone actually liked it? I don’t know what to say. I guess it really was all about the layers. And change.

  “June, I know you love art, but I want you to give some serious thought to your future.”

  It’s time to tell him. “I already have.”

  He looks relieved. It’s like the stress rolls off his shoulders in waves. “And?”

  “It’s dangerous, but I’ll be saving lives.” The stars are so bright, I could reach out and touch them. I think I might.

  “Doctors Without Borders?” he asks.

  “No. I’m going to be a librarian.”

  The Crossover, Kwame Alexander

  Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

  Doll Bones, Holly Black

  Blubber, Judy Blume

  Poppy Mayberry, The Monday, Jennie K. Brown

  Sticks & Stones, Abby Cooper

  Matilda, Roald Dahl

  The Witches, Roald Dahl

  Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo

  Better Nate Than Ever, Tim Federle

  Coraline, Neil Gaiman

  The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

  George, Alex Gino

  Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Chris Grabenstein

  The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton

  Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney

  EngiNerds, Jarrett Lerner

  A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd

  Rules, Cynthia Lord

  Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

  Bob, Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

  Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson

  Pax, Sara Pennypacker

  The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan

  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling

  Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life, Rachel Renée Russell

  Holes, Louis Sachar

  The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, Megan Shepherd

  Goosebumps series, R. L. Stine

  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor

  Wolf Hollow, Lauren Wolk

  Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson

  The Makings of a Witch*

  Wishtree, Katherine Applegate

  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume

  Beezus and Ramona, Beverly Cleary

  Lily and Dunkin, Donna Gephart

  Old Yeller, Fred Gipson

  Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

  The Crucible, Arthur Miller

  Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery

  Monster, Walter Dean Myers

  Junie B. Jones series, Barbara Park

  The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien

  The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams

  * Fictional title

  Thank you to my editor, Caroline Abbey, for partnering with me to make this book better in every imaginable way. You get me, and I love working with you. To Michelle Nagler and Mallory Loehr, my publishers, a huge thank-you for taking a chance on a rebel librarian and a debut author. To Mary McCue, Emily Bamford, Hannah Black, Emily Petrick, and everyone on the publicity and marketing team, I am so grateful for everything you’ve done to promote this book. To Leslie Mechanic, cover designer, and Andy Smith, cover artist, your work is so beautiful that it made me cry when I saw it for the first time. Thank you so much for capturing the essence of June Harper. And to the entire team at Random House Children’s Books, thank you for working tirelessly on this book.

  To my agent and friend, Rick Richter, I am so lucky to have you on this journey with me. You believed in this book from the very beginning. Thank you for everything.

  Sarah Malley, you are my publishing fairy godmother. You plucked me out of the slush—twice—and changed my life with an email. None of this would have happened without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  This book is a love letter to all the educators and librarians who put books in my hands and nurtured my love of stories. Some in particular also thought I should be holding a pen, and they can’t begin to know what it has meant to me. To Dr. Susan Groenke, thank you for listening to my idea for this novel and telling me that I had to write it. To Dr. Bill Larsen, you once told me that if I finished one project, I’d finish everything. You were right. And a most heartfelt thank-you to Dr. Jo Angela Edwins, who sent me a Christmas card every year for fifteen years, each with a note to “Keep writing.” Those words of encouragement added up and meant quite a lot. Thank you all for the gentle nudges and kicks over the years.

  A huge thank-you to Natasha Neagle and Kesi Thomas for reading my first draft and offering valuable critiques and feedback. I am so grateful to both of you for your love, support, and friendship. Many thanks to Amber Rountree for answering my school board questions. And to Tricia Holman Gillentine, Dr. Stacey Reece, Dr. Rachelle Savitz, Dr. Elizabeth MacTavish, Dr. Geri Landry, Jessica Mangicaro, Danielle Selah, Crystal Braeuner, Joanna O’Hagan, Katie Bailey, and Olivia Hinebaugh, thank you for so many encouraging words over the years. I heard them all.

  To Matt and Leigh Ann Jernigan, thank you for the pep talks, support, and guacamole when I needed it most.

  Finally, an enormous thank-you to my sweet family, who survived seasons of my daydreaming while I wrote and revised this novel. And most especially, thank you to my mom, who read it first.

  Like librarian Ms. Bradshaw in Property of the Rebel Librarian, Allison Varnes has fought for her students. She taught English in special education for eight years, and once had to convince administrators that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Harry Potter books were not endorsements of witchcraft. She has a PhD in education from the University of Tennessee. And like her book’s heroine, June, Allison is a former marching-band geek. When she’s not writing, she howls along to t
he Hamilton soundtrack with a quartet of Chihuahuas named after the Peanuts gang.

  Find her on Twitter at @allisonvarnes or on Facebook at facebook.com/​allisonvarnesauthor.

  What’s next on

  your reading list?

  Discover your next

  great read!

  * * *

  Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.

  Sign up now.