A Year Without Autumn Page 19

  “Weirdo!” Autumn rolls her eyes and nudges me in the ribs. “How on earth did I get stuck with you as my best friend?” she asks with a laugh.

  I punch her on the arm. “I dunno,” I say, quickening my step as we cross over the bridge and head for our place by the river. “I guess you could call it good timing.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank . . .

  my family, for all sorts of reading and listening and pointing out of things that they’ve done during the process of my writing this book — even though they’ve probably forgotten that they did most of it, as I did start writing it a long time ago!

  Fiona Kennedy, for deciding that actually the book really was worth publishing after all;

  Amber Caravéo, for helping me to make it the best it could possibly be;

  Catherine Clarke, for still and always being the best, nicest, most supportive, and generally fabbest agent ever;

  Jonathan Engler and Meliora Thomas, for helping me with my medical facts. (If I’ve got any wrong, it will be because I didn’t listen properly. They know their stuff!);

  Laura Tonge, for doing, saying, and being all the right things at all the right times;

  The Candlewick folk, for being wonderful to work with, and for doing so many great things for me and my books;

  and the usual writer buddies, for the usual support, encouragement, feedback, and general sharing of the agonies and ecstasies of this writing lark.

  LIZ KESSLER is the author of the best-selling series about Emily Windsnap, as well as the Philippa Fisher books. She decided she wanted to be a writer at the age of nine, when her first poem was published in the local newspaper. She has also worked as a teacher and a journalist. Liz Kessler lives in Cornwall, England.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2011 by Liz Kessler

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  First published in Great Britain by Orion Children’s Books, a division of the Orion Publishing Group

  First U.S. electronic edition 2011

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this book as follows:

  Kessler, Liz.

  A year without Autumn / Liz Kessler. — 1st U.S. ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Twelve-year-old Jenni’s much-anticipated vacation with her family and best friend Autumn goes awry when an old elevator transports her to a future in which everything has changed, and she must not only return to her time but find a way to prevent what she has seen from coming true.

  ISBN 978-0-7636-5595-2 (hardcover)

  [1. Time travel — Fiction. 2. Best friends — Fiction. 3. Friendship — Fiction. 4. Family life — England — Fiction. 5. Vacations — Fiction. 6. England — Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.K4842Ye 2011

  [Fic] — dc22 2010045957

  ISBN 978-07637-5608-9 (electronic)

  Candlewick Press

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  Somerville, Massachusetts 02144

  visit us at www.candlewick.com