‎Because if I hadn't been so afraid of everyone else, I might have told Hannah that someone cared. And Hannah might still be alive.

Normally when a person has a stellar image another person's waiting in the wings to tear them apart. They're waiting for that one fatal flaw to expose itself.

Because it may seem like a small role now, but it matters. In the end, everything matters.

I sat. And I thought. And the more I thought, connecting the events in my life, the more my heart collapsed.

Two steps behind her, I say her name. "Skye.

A lot of authors see their book being banned or challenged as a badge of honor. But for me, it's nothing but frustrating and upsetting. I hear from readers that my work encouraged them to ask for help or reach out to someone about the situation they're in. When you hear stories like that on a daily basis and then hear adults call for your work to be banned, it's proof of why the stigma around these issues is so dangerous.

It's nothing. A school project. My go-to answer for anything. Staying out late? School project. Need extra money? School project.