For the Beloved Books Project, here is my first edition copy of PERKS. I lent it to a smart, introspective boy named Chase who was a few years younger than me. Chase lent it to a friend, who lent it to a friend, who lent it to…well, basically it got passed around my high school and I was horrified that I might not get it back. Chase offered to buy me another copy, but I wanted mine, and somehow he managed to track it down–but it looked like this. It still means a lot to me, even as beat up as it is.

Chase and I lost touch over the years, but I still think about him every time I look at this book. He was my instant messenger buddy back in the day, the kind of person I could stay up until four in the morning chatting with even though we didn’t talk much in real life. I’m sad to say that last year I was casually scrolling through my Facebook feed, and there was Chase. An obituary. A lot of memories of him flooded back and I wish I’d kept in touch. I’d love to tell him about my book, which is written in instant messaging format and was very much inspired by PERKS. He helped me through a rough time and I wish I could have done the same for him.