Before We Go Extinct (25 page)

Then maybe, just maybe, you'll take your new phone out of your pocket. You'll be breathing too shallow and too fast. You'll need oxygen. You'll take a photo and send it to someone who maybe lives in Canada, someone who is about to be your
stepsister
, a girl with a halo of platinum hair. Maybe you'll type,
I saw a ghost. I saw a star. #ghostsarejuststarswestillsee #Igetit #Imissyou

Maybe then you'll straighten your tie a bit and dry your hands. When you look in the mirror, maybe you'll see that you look like your dad. Maybe you won't hate this. Maybe you'll think, My dad is one of the good guys. And you'll smile a little bit at yourself because he is and you are.

Maybe then you'll be able to breathe slowly enough that you can walk into class. You can say,
Good to see you, man
. You can say,
Dude, good summer?
And maybe when someone asks you the same question then you'll be able to smile and say,
Yes
.

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I don't know how old I was when I read Peter Benchley's
Jaws
. I want to say I was pretty young. Too young, definitely. And it was the book, not the movie, that really did me in. (For the record, I'm still too young for the movie.) From that day forward, whenever I was in the ocean (which was a lot! I lived on an island), I just waited for the shadow that always lurked below me to show itself to be the great white shark that was waiting to bite me. Even when it didn't make sense. Especially when it didn't make sense. As I grew up, I read everything I could about this fish that instilled so much terror in me as a child. I stopped being afraid. Most importantly, I learned that sharks rarely bite people. This year (I'm writing this in 2015), there have been an unusual number of shark bites reported, and this is due to a conflagration of issues: climate change, overfishing, more people in the ocean, swimmers at beaches that are also baited for fishing, and murky water. The list goes on. The facts remain unchanged though: sharks are not out to get us. Having survived five major extinctions, sharks are simply going about the business of surviving, just like the rest of us. The shark-finning industry has almost entirely emptied the ocean of the majority of its sharks. No one can say with 100 percent certainty what happens when an apex predator is removed from the food chain, but we know that it will have far-reaching implications.

The people behind the documentary
Sharkwater
(
sharkwater.com
) are making a difference. Shark activists around the world are making a difference. But it might be too little, too late. Please consider throwing your own loud voice in with the rising chorus who are working to shut down the shark-finning industry. This book is for them and for you and for all of us who hope to continue to survive on a planet that we are very quickly depleting of sharks (and everything else, for that matter). If nothing else, I hope you start paying attention. Say no to shark fin soup and restaurants that serve it. Please.

In addition to the people who are working tirelessly for change, I owe a debt of gratitude to all the people who made this particular novel possible: Jennifer Laughran (for everything), Janine O'Malley and the rest of the team at FSG (for loving and supporting the book), the Canada Council for the Arts, my readers (of course!), my kids (who remind me every day why I do this and why it's important to use my voice to speak out when I can), and last, but not least, my wonderful parents (for providing me with the setting of this book and of so many others). It's the best place in the world. I'd set everything there, if only I could.

Quite often, people ask me why I write young adult books. I tell them that it's because my teen years were the most vivid of my life. When you're a teenager, everything feels truly real for the first time. You are figuring out who you are going to be and how that's going to happen, how you'll go from kid-you to your true self. It can be a difficult journey, no lie. High school is hard. Sometimes you have disastrous relationships, make horrible mistakes, or suffer such painful humiliations that it's hard to see past them. Sometimes the road to who you want to be looks impassable, filled with too many obstacles, too many naysayers, too many haters. Sometimes it looks like the best option is to opt out. I am one of many voices who are here to tell you—to
promise
you—that it gets better. It absolutely, 100 percent gets better. Even when it seems impossible. Even when you don't believe that it can. It can. And it will. But if you're struggling with how and why, I just ask that you reach out to someone, anyone who can help you, or at least, try to help you. If you don't have anyone in your life who fits the bill, please call a help line, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255), or visit a website like
itgetsbetter.org
.

Sometimes life is really, really hard. But I promise that it's not impossible forever. There's joy. Not every day, and maybe not yet, but eventually it finds you. I swear. Stay strong. I believe in you.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Rivers
is the author of many award-winning books for children and teens, including
The Girl in the Well Is Me
. She lives in Victoria, BC, with her children. You can sign up for email updates
here
.

 

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CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright Notice

Dedication

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Copyright

 

Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers

175 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010

Text copyright © 2016 Karen Rivers

All rights reserved

First hardcover edition, 2016

eBook edition, June 2016

fiercereads.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015034448

Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at
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.

eISBN 9780374302450