My first Booklist review

When the e-mail from my editor landed in my inbox yesterday, I couldn't open it for a minute. Even though I'd heard Booklist doesn't give bad reviews, they only review books they like, I was scared.

Maybe I'm alone in this, but my writerly confidence goes up and down like a roller coaster. Some days it's fine and I feel okay, and some days, not so much. I've been in a lower place these past couple of weeks for some reason. Mostly I try really hard to just keep my head down, ignore it, and put that anxious energy into my work. After all, this is my job now. I need to write whether I am feeling good about my writing and my career or not. Yes, easier said than done some days.

Anyway, I eventually opened the e-mail. And it made me smile. Booklist has never reviewed me before, so it was especially sweet for that reason. Here it is:

Issue: June 1, 2011
The Day Before

Schroeder is the author of several teen books, including I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME (2009), an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers. Reluctant or not, readers will find plenty of appeal factors in this outing. The basic frame is a sort of noir Ferris Bueller's Day Off, in which two teens decide to spend a perfect day together before their respective fates claim them." (Spoilers omitted) "Cade, meanwhile, is handsome and brooding -- and his particular crisis delivers a punch at the novel's end. Schroeder has Amber narrate through free verse, the kind of jottings that might appeal to teens used to texting. This device gives Amber's revelations an immediacy and economy that add up to a surprising amount of tension. Fans of Lisa McMann's Wake series should gobble this up." -- Connie Fletcher