The first copy of my book showed up in the mail yesterday, and I’m really happy with it. I hadn’t seen the finished product — hadn’t seen any steps of the process after going through a set of proof pages months ago to give feedback on design — and getting the chance to page through it was surreal and exciting and a lot of fun yesterday.

It’s neat to see how it came together, and I have to say my favorite part of the book might be this:

There’s a 22-page index in the back of the book. It’s actually three indexes: two of them have locations on them and the one pictured above (obviously) does not.

I plan on doing a giveaway when my personal copies arrive, but I’ve been keeping an eye on where it is available for purchase. And while the publication date is technically August 15, it’s shipping now and available now. You can buy it at VOYA’s site with a 20% subscriber discount. You’re also able to purchase it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Book Depository, all of which have the book discounted. Through Book Depository you can also get free shipping worldwide.  It won’t be in bookstores, since it’s a specialty market title, but if you’re going to ALA next week, you might be able to buy it at VOYA’s booth (or take a picture for me, which would make me so happy).

It’s weird to think this book is 2 years in the making. I put in the proposal in October 2012 after brainstorming what could be a worthwhile project to pursue. I wrote it, edited it, had 2 amazing people read and give me huge and significant feedback on it, did some more revising, then turned it in in June 2013.

Now it’s out there, and that’s neat. I hope it’s a valuable resource and tool to readers who want to know more and learn more about contemporary realistic YA fiction, as well as reader’s advisory. The two things are married in my mind, and so they’re also married in the book.

Between this and finishing a webinar for librarians yesterday, it feels like the end of a chapter in formal librarianship for me. It’s weird, but I feel like I walked away with so much from this field and it’ll never leave me. Like reader’s advisory and YA fiction, librarianship and I will always be married to one another.

I’m excited to take this knowledge and these experiences and apply them and think about them through the next chapters.