Hearts Unbroken

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

  Like Louise, I’m a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. I didn’t learn about Baum’s pro-genocide editorials until I was an adult, and that knowledge came as a blow.

  The atrocities committed at Wounded Knee, during removal (also known as the Trail of Tears), and at U.S. federal Indian boarding schools are by no means fully communicated herein. They’re referenced in passing as Louise is processing them in the moment. The same is true of tribal sovereignty and U.S. federal American Indian law related to Native children and families.

  I strongly encourage readers to seek out official tribal websites and nonfiction by Native and First Nations authors for more information.

  Likewise, it’s beyond the scope of this novel to fully reflect on the referenced real-world terrorist attacks — the Oklahoma City bombing and the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001 — or their ongoing aftermath. I recommend beginning study at the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum, the Flight 93 National Memorial, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, and the National September 11 Memorial and/or their respective websites.

  In contrast, the televised news stories are fictional. Those familiar with northeast Kansas probably also noticed a few fictional businesses, Joey’s fictional previous school (West Overland High), and two fictional towns — (old) Hannesburg and East Hannesburg.

  Finally, Louise and Joey’s romance is very loosely inspired by my adolescent relationship with the boyfriend to whom this novel is dedicated. I’m grateful for his blessing and support. Although Louise is my given middle name, the characters are by no means us. Their story is not our story. However, we do — respectively — share with them a few life experiences and identity elements, including high-school journalism, faith, and heritage.

  A quote from L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of OZ, “There is no place like home,” is used rather than the more iconic screenplay version because the novel is in the public domain.

  Beyond that, attentive readers may have noticed direct or indirect references to Ansel Adams, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Carlton Beal, James Ross Boothe, Holly Black, E. R. Braithwaite, Libba Bray, Amanda Brown, William F. Brown, Warren Casey, Cecil Castellucci, James Clavell, Rita Coolidge, Carolyn Crimi, Noma Dumezweni, Patrick Sheane Duncan, Robert Eisele, Hal Foster, Gal Gadot, Eric Gansworth, Judy Garland, Woody Guthrie, Jack Haley, Martin Handford, Moss Hart, Jim Henson, Audrey Hepburn, John B. Herrington, Jamie Houston, Rock Hudson, William Hurlbut, Jim Jacobs, Patty Jenkins, the King James Bible, Burt Lancaster, Noel Langley, Queen Latifah, Y. S. Lee, Kermit Love, George Lucas, Rooney Mara, William Moulton Marston, Karen McCullah, Meat Loaf, Billy Mills, A. A. Milne, Lin-Manuel Miranda, H. G. Peter, Jeffrey Porro, Elvis Presley, Rihanna, J. K. Rowling, Florence Ryerson, Tony Scherman, Tom Schulman, William Shakespeare, Mary Shelley, Kirsten Smith, Tim Tingle, J. R. R. Tolkien, Walela, Isaac Watts, Joss Whedon, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Oprah Winfrey, Clare Herbert Woolston, and Edgar Allan Woolf.

  Mvskoke is a living language. Louise, Hughie, and I are beginning rather than fluent speakers. We know common phrases and some vocabulary words.

  My sources were the Muscogee Nation (MN) website, the College of Muscogee Nation (CMN) website, and the Mvskoke Nation Language App (MNLA), all of which reflect their own dialect, spelling, and pronunciation decisions. They also offer audio files featuring the proper pronunciation of the incorporated words and sentences.

  The Wolfe siblings reference using the app, but it’s not their only learning source.

  Vca fvckes: I am happy (MNLA/Describing People)

  Cokv kerretv heret os: Learning is good (CMN)

  Cokvheckv omvlkat enakes: Education for all (CMN)

  cvtv hakv: blue bread (MNLA/Traditional Food)

  Estonko?: How are you? (MN)

  Estvmin like cet towa?: Where do you live? (MN)

  Here mahe: I’m doing fine (MN)

  hesci: hello (CMN)

  hotvle rakko: tornado (MNLA/Nature)

  Lekothe tos: It is warm (MNLA/Weather)

  mvto: thank you (MNLA/Words)

  Oren hiye tos: It is very hot (MNLA/Weather)

  Pu fvckvkes: We are happy (MNLA/Describing People)

  Yvhiketv cvyace tos: I like to sing (MNLA/Action Phrases)

  Hearts Unbroken took me longer to complete than any of my previous novels.

  I recall mentioning the project to fellow author Uma Krishnaswami eight years ago, adding, “But of course I could never write that.”

  I wasn’t ready, and the world wasn’t ready, either.

  She replied that I wouldn’t always be the same writer I was that day. I’d grow.

  Young adult publishing isn’t static. It would change, too.

  Today I’m heartened, optimistically unbroken, and a believer in the power of Story.

  My thanks to Hilary Van Dusen, my insightful editor; Ginger Knowlton, my literary agent of twenty years; Deborah Noyes, who originally acquired this manuscript; Hannah Mahoney, the copyeditor; and Pamela Consolazio, the jacket designer. I also greatly appreciate the support of the talented teams at Candlewick Press and Curtis Brown Ltd.

  In addition, I’m deeply thankful for the efforts of my intern Gayleen Rabakukk, booking agent Carmen Oliver, web designer Erik Neills of Square Bear Studio, and manuscript readers Anne Bustard, Amy Rose Capetta, Cory Putman Oakes, Sean Petrie, Kevin Wohler, and Jennifer Ziegler. (Kevin was the editorial cartoonist on our own Kansas high-school newspaper.)

  Thanks also to the AAWs, Austin SCBWI, and the Writers’ League of Texas.

  More globally, as a faculty member in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts, I’m blessed to receive continuing education and inspiration. Thanks to my VCFA family for all that you’ve taught me about writing and myself.

  With regard to research assistance and personal insights, I gratefully salute: the Alexander Mitchell Public Library staff in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Teresa Arevalo; Christopher T. Assaf; Varsha Bajaj; Hamilton Beasley; Breed & Co./Ace Hardware of Austin, Texas; Gene Brenek; Joseph Bruchac; Samantha Clark; Ron Clements; the Cohen family; Jenny Kay DuPuis; Ted Elliott; Carolyn Flores; Hannah Gómez; Mette Ivie Harrison; Andrea Henry; Shelley Ann Jackson; Varian Johnson; Johnson County Community College; the Lawrence Free State High School registrar; the City of Lawrence, Kansas, communications department; Kevin Noble Maillard; Jenny Moss; John Musker; S. D. Nelson; Lisa Palin; Aaron Rittmaster; Terry Rossio; Tracy Russell; Lisa Shafer; Greg Leitich Smith; Traci Sorell; the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (ADA); Carol Lynch Williams; and Owen Ziegler.

  On a more personal level, many of the above, plus William Alexander, Salima Alikhan, Kathi Appelt, Joy Castro, Elizabeth Cole, Robin Galbraith, David Macinnis Gill, Michael Helferich, Lindsey Lane, Cynthia Levinson, April Lurie, Kekla Magoon, Liz Garton Scanlon, Don Tate, Jo Whittemore, Kathryn Zbryk, and, finally, KU journalism educator and one-time Kansas City Star editor Tom Eblen, who died during the writing of this novel.

  Rest in peace, Tom. You were a stellar teacher. If this novel inspires one teen to someday study journalism, all the credit goes to you.

  Hesci. Herein, a few words and sentences are written in Mvskoke, the language of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Okmulgee, Oklahoma. A glossary is included toward the back of this book.

  Neither the Indigenous nor foreign languages are italicized or translated in the main body of the text, except to indicate emphasis.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2018 by Cynthia Leitich Smith

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  First electronic edition 2018

  Library of Congress Catalog Ca
rd Number pending

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