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Back The Copycat Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Chapter One
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Chapter Two
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Chapter Three
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Chapter Four
  19. Twelve
  20. Thirteen
  21. Fourteen
  22. Chapter Five
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Chapter Six
  26. Seventeen
  27. Eighteen
  28. Nineteen
  29. Chapter Seven
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Chapter Eight
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Twenty-Five
  37. Chapter Nine
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Chapter Ten
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Chapter Eleven
  46. Thirty-Two
  47. Thirty-Three
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Chapter Twelve
  51. Thirty-Six
  52. Thirty-Seven
  53. Thirty-Eight
  54. Chapter Thirteen
  55. Thirty-Nine
  56. Forty
  57. Forty-One
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Chapter Fourteen
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Chapter Fifteen
  66. The Following Summer
  67. About the Author
  68. About the Publisher

She couldn’t believe how satisfying it was to write down things she loved. Next was ALI’S FAVORITE BOOKS. So far, there were six.

  • Anne of Green Gables
  • Charlotte’s Web
  • A Wrinkle in Time
  • The first two Harry Potter books
  • The Golden Compass

It was a start. She tried to think of other favorites:

  • Color: sapphire blue
  • Music: Beyoncé
  • Sound I love: laughter
  • Sound I hate: the foghorn
  • Favorite things to do: swim and read
  • Least favorite thing to do: talk in public
  • Subject: science

Everything she liked went on its own Post-it note. Soon there were so many colorful squares on the walls that it reminded her of a kaleidoscope that could be twisted and turned to reveal things that made her happy.

She stalled once, when she got to BEST FRIEND. Was Alfie her best friend? Not yet. Murray or Cassie or Emily? Nope. Truth be told, Ali had never had one. But what was the definition of a best friend, anyway? Someone who got you. Who liked you. Who was always there for you. Who wanted you to be happy. Once she realized that, it was easy.

  • Best friends: Digger and Mom

This was a surprise. Ali had spent years being angry at her parents for dragging her from town to town. She’d thought they were unreliable. But that wasn’t the whole story. They loved her. They were always nice to her. They worked hard in their own ways to care for her. And now that she knew the truth about Teddy, she understood why Digger had run away. Hadn’t she run away from school when things got hard, too?

Ali pulled out her tattered notebook and reread her rules. She knew that rules and scientific laws were important because they were supposed to help people understand the world around them, but Ali’s rules didn’t do that. Now she could see that her rules were mostly about protecting herself from being hurt. But she’d gotten hurt anyway. It wasn’t only her parents who’d made mistakes. She had too. It was time to forgive them and herself and move on. She tossed the notebook in the trash can.

Ali’s mother popped in to see her after dinner. “How are you feeling?” she asked, nestling in beside Ali.

“Better.”

Her mother studied the Post-it notes on the wall. “What’s up?”

Ali took a deep breath. “I wasn’t sick today.”

“I figured. Want to talk about it?”

For the next hour, Ali told her mother everything that had happened since school started. Her mother kept her comments and questions to herself, though she did throw in the odd hug. When Ali finished, her mother sighed. “I’d say all that would be enough for three years, let alone three weeks. Why didn’t you tell Digger or me before it got so out of hand?”