Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Chapter One
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Chapter Two
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Chapter Three
- Ten
- Eleven
- Chapter Four
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Chapter Five
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Chapter Six
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Chapter Seven
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Chapter Eight
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Chapter Nine
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Ten
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Chapter Eleven
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Chapter Twelve
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Chapter Thirteen
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Chapter Fourteen
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Chapter Fifteen
- The Following Summer
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
“He said he’d join debate club. We need at least four kids to have a team. Ms. Ryder told me this morning that so far, I’m the only one who’s signed up.”
“I might join.”
“I thought you weren’t interested.”
“A person can change their mind. You always say how great it is, and my mom just joined Toastmasters International to become a better public speaker, so I thought I’d give it a try.” Ali could hear the defensiveness in the girl’s voice.
“Okay. You’ll like Alfie; he’s a riot. He’s in eighth grade and has lived in London for like his whole life. Cool, huh?”
“My mom and dad went to London once.”
Interstellar boy ignored the comment and stood up. “I think we should go look for him, make sure he’s not off by himself somewhere.” The thoughtfulness of the comment made Ali wistful; she wished someone cared enough to check on her, too.
The girl didn’t respond but must have agreed, because paper crinkled, lunch bags zipped closed, and chair legs scraped. Then they were gone. And even though she didn’t know them, their absence tugged at her.
Alfie Sloane was somewhere in this school right now. Thrilled, Ali let that fact sink in. She’d wanted to meet Alfie her whole life. What was he like? She’d only seen one picture of him, taken in front of the London Eye when he was five years old. He’d looked like her, but she knew a lot could change between the time a person was five and twelve. Interstellar boy had described him as funny. Like Digger on the front porch this morning, wagging his tail to make her and her mom laugh. She was surprised Alfie was a grade ahead of her; they were born in the autumn of the same year. Maybe he was super smart and had skipped a grade.
The biggest question was this: was Alfie a Copycat? Ali wasn’t sure if she wanted him to be one or not. In some ways, it would be nice if he was a boring old Constant like her. But if he was a Copycat, he’d be able to change into anything, just like Digger, which would be kind of cool. No, that wasn’t the biggest question. The biggest question was: would Alfie want to meet her? Did the Sloane Family Feud extend down to their generation? And if it did, why?