Next week is the ALA national conference and I am excited to be heading to Chicago for it. I’ve been absolutely humbled by how supportive the library community has been of my dark little book. It makes me teary to think about and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to attend the conference and meet so many wonderful book-loving folks in person. I will be there from Thursday to Sunday, and I will be part of a panel of Friday morning and then I will be signing Charm & Strange Friday evening in the exhibit hall.

Later, on Friday, I will be helping to host the Great YA Blogger Meetup at the M Lounge.  It’s sponsored by YA Highway, Stacked, and Chicagoland Kidlit Drinks Night. If you are at the conference, and can make any of the above events, please do stop by! I am super friendly and love to chat.

I also want to thank everyone who came to the launch party at Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley last weekend. It was SO MUCH fun and I can’t believe how many people showed up. It was such a special, special event. More than anything, I was blown away by the fact that a young girl showed up who had already read the book. She had such brilliant, astute questions for me, and I loved hearing her interpretation of the events in the story. But the most memorable thing she asked was about the ending. It’s slightly spoilery, so I’ve hidden it, but she asked me:

To which I told her:

Here are some photos from that evening: