I woke up to a wonderful surprise the other morning.

Mornings are often rushed, anxious affairs in our house, with one kid waking up late after having sworn the night before (while assembling Boba Fett armor out of cardboard and hot glue) that he had absolutely, positively, finished all his homework (not), and another child remarking plaintively that today was the PTA breakfast and where are the muffins for my class? All with chickens to be fed, lunches packed, and unwashed PE uniforms discovered in backpacks.

But the other morning was the best morning I’ve had, perhaps all year. It began with an email from my publisher, deftly and wonderfully titled: “Starred Kirkus review!!”

I gave a loud squeak of disbelief and joy. Then I read the email title again to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. No, I could still hear the faint shouts of children arguing in the distance.

Oh!!

Getting reviewed by Kirkus is a big deal. One of the biggest independent professional book reviewers, Kirkus also has a reputation for being tough. And a starred review! Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit, apparently only 10% of books they review earn this. Never in my dreams… well, ok, the dreams in which I also fly and have the ability to teleport to sushi restaurants in Japan. I had to sit down, I was feeling so verklempt. Had I eaten all the chocolate in the house?

Writing is a solitary profession. “How do you come up with such… strange ideas?” I’ve often been asked. The answer is clearly spending too much time in one’s own head, or wandering around mumbling to oneself about tigers and what to serve at 1930s curry tiffins.

So it is with deep, deep gratitude that I’d love to share this review with you. Thank you Kirkus!! And thank you to all for coming on this journey towards pub date (Feb 2019!) with me.

Here’s a link to the review