Armstrong & Charlie would not exist without the inspiration, guidance, and guardianship of the following people:
The students who rode into my life in the 1970s on a long yellow bus—you broke down barriers, opened hearts and minds, and widened our Laurel Canyon world.
My real-life brothers, Michael and Danny Frank, who were okay with being killed off in fiction.
My father, Marty Frank, who allowed me to write about his pain.
My mother, Merona Frank, who read an early draft on her cell phone and gave the perfect blend of encouragement and advice, especially about Charlie’s mom.
Michael Frank, brother in both blood and craft, who dug deep into the psychology of these characters as no one else can, and who was essential in getting the book out the door.
Maira Kalman for a much-appreciated introduction to Charlotte Sheedy.
Charlotte, who gave the manuscript to Kevin O’Connor.
Kevin, whose candor, clarity, and diamond-cutting skills made Armstrong & Charlie the book that it is.
Margaret Raymo at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for all Readers; you were my dream editor, and you came true.
Thanks also to the whole team at HMH—Betsy Groban, Mary Wilcox, Linda Magram, Karen Walsh, and Lisa DiSarro for helping launch the book and making the writer feel so welcome; to the logical, hawk-eyed Susan Buckheit for copyediting the book; and to Sharismar Rodriguez and Andy Smith for designing and drawing a cover that jumps off the shelf into a reader’s arms.
To my students at Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles, who, over many years, have kept me “au courant” with the devilish and delightful workings of the middle school brain; to my aunt, Harriet Frank, Jr., an early and ardent champion of this book; my mother-in-law, Nana Bette, who has been asking for a long time for something of mine to read; my children, Sophie, Sam, and Mia, for tolerating a dad who stands at the kitchen counter typing all the time; and to my wife, Julie, who lives patiently with the voices in my head.
Finally to you, Reader, for your gift of attention and time.