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Fun facts: (New fun facts added on July 23rd, 2020)

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1. The manuscript for The Summer We Turned Thirteen is 505 pages and 170,862  words long!

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2. In a Winnington of my own:

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 I have grown up in a small town/suburb very much like Winnington.

A community where everyone knows one another, bicycle races with friends, everything being so closeby.

All of those things sum up my small town, suburban life.

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3. I'm a James. My sister is a Harlee:

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Our sisterhood is actually a lot like Jarlee's friendship.

I'm usually the one freaking out as she is just calm and chill.

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4. "Always"  set the precedent:

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Always being said at the start and the end of the book were two of the first scenes that I came up with before planning out the book.

I chose the word Always because I liked the ring it had to it.

It couldn't be something like, "Infinitely" or "Eternally" because of their ages at the start of the book. (Most nine-year-olds aren't going to say something like that.)

So, it had to be a word like "Always" or "Forever."

I've seen people commenting Always is also a big thing in Harry Potter, but I've never read the series or watched the films, so I wasn't aware until seeing those comments.

I was kind of sad to find that out because I wanted to make it a memorable thing in literature first but oh, well.

Regardless, I've chosen to keep the word Always as Jarlee's friendship mantra rather than change it to forever because I still prefer the ring always has to it and forever is more cliche.

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5. There's much more coming for James, Harlee, and the rest of the cast:

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James and Harlee still have so much growing up to do.

There is so much more to their story and for the rest of the characters' stories, as well as many new characters for you guys to meet, so stay tuned.

If you would like to read seven unreleased scenes that didn't make it into the novel, scroll a few posts ahead. One of them is the snowball fight that James mentioned in chapter thirty-nine.

All of these scenes still happened. They just aren't included in the novel.

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Below is one of my most appreciated reviews I've ever gotten on this book from one of my most amazingly supportive readers!

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🌟 MissSo-called 🌟

1. The writing - you're a gifted writer. Every single word makes me feel it. Laugh, cry, empathize, emotional, moved, angry, confused. Every. Single. Word. Wow.

2. The depth - goodness, what depth. That too for a book with 12-year-olds. Kudos.

3. Character growth - this is something many writers try but few succeed. Yours is wow. Every single character shows growth at the end of the book.

4. Unresolved issues - I hate a book where everything is resolved. Yours shows that it's a journey. Harlee / Amy for example

5. Relatable - at 12-13, I went through so many things that Harlee and the others did. The petty fights that seemed so significant back then, the realization that a friend has more / less money. These little things have been brought out so beautifully in your book.

6. Not repetitive or boring - I have seen some books start with a bang and then they go downhill. It becomes lather. Rinse. Repeat. Even with James and Harlee parting so many times, it doesn't seem repetitive at all.

7. Peer pressure - peer pressure is something that we all go through. Seldom do books focus on something so vital.

8. Flawed characters - all the characters do things that they probably shouldn't. That's okay. They learn from it and move on. Beautiful.

9. Portrayal of coming of age love - this is absolutely brilliantly done and that's why I feel every teen must read it. Any teen grappling through feelings for the first time and is confused must read your book. Those first feelings have been beautifully written in your book.

10. Bullying - I have read scores and scores of books on bullying but most of the times, either the bully apologizes (never happens, we know that) or the bully falls in love with the bullied (I avoid these books like the plague), but the way your book has shown this is amazing. James stands up to his bullies but the bullies don't change completely.

When I have a child and that child becomes a teenager, I want her or him to read your book. Your book is truly a masterpiece.