Thank you to my friends and family, who were subjected to long monologues about publishing that probably weren’t very interesting—and extra special thanks to those of you who read early versions of the book. Shout-out to NBA Twitter, an A+ group of people whose unbridled enthusiasm for my writing during my blogging days gave me the confidence to finally go for it. It may seem weird, but it turns out there’s actually some overlap between YA readers and basketball fans—thanks to all you Twitter friends who were some of the earliest readers of this book! A particular thank-you to Laura Walker and Sarah Moon, the founding members of Team Book in the World. Without Laura cheering me on as my very first beta reader, I don’t know if I would’ve made it all the way to the end of draft two. Guys! Look! It’s a book! In the world!
It’s funny how things work out. I just realized I have to thank Chris Paul. If you hadn’t left New Orleans, I probably would never have quit blogging. In a bizarre way, this book exists because of you.
Thank you to my dad, who inspired a lifelong love of fantasy by reading The Hobbit out loud to me when I was little. (Someday I’ll write a Swords and Horses one.) To my mom, who, when this book was out on submission, told me to visualize my dream book deal and say, “Things are always working out for me.” They did work out! To my brother, Bryan, for spotting all the geeky references in the book.
Thank you to Michael, my sweetie, especially for all the weeks when I was on deadline during revisions and completely ignored him. Somehow the house didn’t become buried in trash and dishes, and all the cats survived, and I am pretty sure those things had nothing to do with me. I love you!
This book is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, Barbara Proops, who never laughed when eight-year-old me said I was going to be a writer. I’m glad I was able to call her and say I’d sold my book. Unfortunately she never got to read it.
And finally, this book would not exist without Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books and Stan Rogers’s music. To go forward, sometimes you have to go back. I went back to the folk songs and the sailing adventures I loved, the ones that inspired a girl with dreams of being a pirate. The girl grew up and the dreams turned into this book.
Text copyright © 2017 by Sarah Tolcser
Map copyright © 2017 by Virginia Allyn
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in the United States of America in June 2017
by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tolcser, Sarah.
Title: Song of the current / Sarah Tolcser.
Description: New York : Bloomsbury USA Children’s, 2017.
Summary: When Caroline Oresteia, seventeen, finally has a chance to be a wherryman, she gets caught in a web of politics and lies, with her father’s life at stake.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016036498 (print) • LCCN 2017000863 (e-book) ISBN 978-1-68119-297-0 (hardcover) • ISBN 978-1-68119-298-7 (e-book)
Subjects: | CYAC: Fantasy. | Pirates—Fiction. | Boats and boating—Fiction. | Rivers—Fiction. | Racially mixed people—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION/Fantasy & Magic. | JUVENILE FICTION/Royalty. | JUVENILE FICTION/ Love & Romance.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.T623 Son 2017 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.T623 (e-book) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036498
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