Reader, I have to tell you—this novel was born from a true story.

Jane Yolen’s The Devil’s Arithmetic was censored in my local elementary school in the exact way as it’s described here. After buying an uncensored copy at my local independent bookstore, I went to the principal to fix the problem, but I was shrugged off as if I was crazy to think that censorship is wrong.

Now, four years later, school districts all over the country are seeing a massive rise in book bans—where just a few citizens are removing many books from shelves in a call to “protect” you from the truth … when taking away stories of people different from you, or stories where you might be able to see yourself and your family, or, really, any stories, is the opposite of protection.

I want you to care about intellectual freedom—which is the right to read. I’m pretty sure if you got this far in the book, you do care, and you’re probably sick of being treated like someone who knows less than you know. Good. Keep it up. My side of the deal is that I’ll keep reminding adults that they need to listen to you more.

If your school is facing book challenges and bans, you can find information on how to fight them at: PEN America (https://pen.org/how-to-fight-book-bans-a-tip-sheet-for-students/) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (https://ncac.org/resource/book-censorship-toolkit). I could talk about this topic all day, and during Banned Books Week (yep—that’s a real thing!), I do! But for now, I need to thank a few people.

Huge thanks to everyone at Scholastic, but an extra-big fist bump to David Levithan, my editor and my friend. More huge thanks to Michael Bourret, the best agent in the galaxy.

Enormous thanks to Jane Yolen for writing amazing books and for letting me write about her. Jane, thank you for what you do for young people. My admiration is endless.

Huge props to my kid, who is not Mac Delaney, but who is as fearless, and to my parents, who taught me to seek truth, no matter what, which made me into a writer.

Teachers, Librarians, Booksellers: Thank you for everything. <3