Dr. Radway named to the 2013 Kirkus Best Middle Grade Books of the Year list, which blows me away with quadruple joy

I don't know how else to say this:

I am bowled over and steeped in gratitude, for I have received the news that Dr. Radway's Sarsaparilla Resolvent has been named to the 2013 Kirkus Best Middle Grade Books of the Year list.

This is a story I was determined to write ever since I'd stumbled upon my character, William, while writing my Centennial Philadelphia novel, Dangerous Neighbors. It is a story about my city—a story about machines and headlines, about classified ads and courage, about a boy who, in rescuing lost animals, rescues those he loves.

Publishing Dr. Radway was a brave and idealistic venture. My husband joined me in the dream, providing the book's illustrations. New City Community Press/Temple University Press said yes one warm winter day, and made the book real.

Thank you—thank you!— to Vicky Smith at Kirkus Reviews and to a certain reader who believed.