Finding Fairest

Ever since my first reading of Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine has been on my list of most gifted young adult fictional writers.  I admire her work very much and she has done a wonderful job of inspiring young people to apply themselves to their writing.

The very week that my family moved to North Carolina, I discovered that Mrs. Levine was going to make a visit to a library, which was local to my area. Here I had come so close to meeting one of my favorite authors, and I wasn't even able to attend. *sigh* 

Determined to make it up to myself, I went to every second-hand books store I could, to collect as many of Mrs. Levine’s books that I could.  Already, I owned a nice paperback version of Ella Enchanted, which smiled happily on my bookshelf.  Desperately, I wanted A Tale of Two Castles next.  It had only just been published and our new library was not carrying it yet.

We had not lived in North Carolina long when my dad came across a wonderful little bookshop in downtown Raleigh.  One day, he took me and my sisters there and we combed thickly through the disorganized shelves of the store, in search of any goodies that might be hidden there.  Everyone found at least three things that they wanted, while I was still searching for myself.  It felt like a treasure hunt, searching those shelves for books.  Soon, I came across two hardback copies of Fairest, my favorite of Mrs. Levine's novels.  Picking them up, I examined them carefully, trying to decide which one I should take home.

Every one of us left the store with grins and armfuls of books.  I am sure that the cashier thought that we were a tad crazy, buying so many books.  For my family though, buying books is a treat.  After securing my seat belt in the car, I pulled Fairest out of my bag and looked over the cover, with a smile stretching from ear to ear.  Opening it, I stared at the first page, but was suddenly taken aback.

“What’s wrong?” Annie asked, looking up from her pile of loot. 

“This book’s been written on!” I cried aghast.  “Look here, on the front page!”

I held it up for her to look.  Sure enough, there was a thin scribbling of black ink across the page.

“It looks like someone was trying to write their name, and did it too fast,” Annie commented, seeing my disappointment.  “Very bad luck, Em.  Do you think that you can return it?”

“No, this book was the better of the two.  The other had a bad tear in the binding, and I rather put up with scribbling than a book that is falling apart,” I sighed.

The scribbling did look like it had been written in a hurry.  Squinting, I tried to make out what it actually said.  There were two letters, two dots, and what looked like a last name. 

I stared at the page for a long time, before I was forced to look up because I was beginning to get carsick.  I had identified the first initial as a “G” and the second as a curly “C” Then it struck me.

“This book has been autographed!”  I exclaimed.

Annie looked up quickly, saying in a surprised voice, “Seriously?”

“Yes.  Look at this page again,” I shoved the book back under her nose.  “It says ‘Gail Carson Levine’ right here beneath the book’s title. It's not scribbling at all.  This book has been autographed!”

Annie let out a little laugh of excitement and announced to the entire car, “Em has got an autographed book!”

 Everyone erupted in excitement and the autographed Fairest was passed around, while each person declared to me what a stroke of good fortune I had had to get hold of a book signed by its author.  When the novel had finished its second round around the car, Fairest was handed back to me, with the words,“That is so cool!”

Yes, it was definitely cool.  With a sigh of contentment, I slipped Fairest back into my bag, feeling much better about not getting to go to and see Mrs. Levine.  I then realized, that I didn't have to ever meet any of my favorite authors-as fun as that would be-because every book written is a like window into the authors mind.  Essentially, I had already met Mrs. Levine, only it had been in a different way.  She had been gracious enough to invite me into her world of fantasy, allowing me to mingle there as long as I wished, enjoying her ideas and plot twists, through her novels. 

I owe a great thank you to Mrs. Levine.  All of her hard work has been a great inspiration, not only to me, but too many other children and teens as well.  Even if I never do get to meet her in person, I am happy that her books are there for me.