{"product_id":"believe-me-isbn-9780452289765","title":"Believe Me","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn the tradition of Jodi Picoult, a fresh, smart, and deeply moving novel about the power of faith, love, and family\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Thirteen-year-old Nic Delano has a lot of questions. Like why does he have a babysitter at his age-and where did she get such long legs? But mostly, what exactly is the meaning of life?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e His mother, Lucy, an astrophysicist and atheist, has always encouraged Nic to ask questions. But lately she doesn't like the answers he's getting. Nic has been hanging out with a group of devout Christians and is starting to embrace the Bible—and a very different view of the heavens.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But when unexpected tragedy strikes, Nic and Lucy's beliefs are truly to put to the test. And they need each other now more than ever. But will a mother and her son be able to find a common ground where faith meets understanding and love is, ultimately, what endures?“The overpublished religion vs. atheism debate takes a refreshing turn here. In an understated way, Killham takes a modest run at the great questions: does God exist? if so, where is he when people get ill or get mugged?... a sweet, engaging read.”—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"Killham's characters are wonderful, and Nicolas is one of the all-time great thirteen year olds of fiction.\"—\u003cb\u003eLuanne Rice, author of \u003ci\u003eFollow the Stars Home\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Killham has gone, as it says in the \u003ci\u003eBook of Common Prayer\u003c\/i\u003e, from strength to strength. Anyone would have been proud to have written this book.\" —\u003cb\u003eJacquelyn Mitchard, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Deep End of the Ocean\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eNina Killham\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of an American Foreign Service officer, and lived overseas much of her childhood. She is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, which she fled her junior year to live in Paris and eat. One of her first writing stints was for the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e Food Section where she wrote about local food personalities and tested endless recipes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter writing about travel and lifestyle for national magazines, she went off to Los Angeles to gain fame and fortune as a screenwriter and ended up working as an assistant for Columbia Pictures where grown men fought like children over parking spaces and made their secretaries pick peanut M\u0026amp;M’s out of a mixed candy dish because well…they don’t like peanut M\u0026amp;Ms. She finally left the studio to write the screenplay that was going to make her famous and rich, ending up six months later as a secretary in an ear plug factory.\u003cp\u003eShe is now married to an Australian who is a senior lecturer at the London School of Economics.   They live in London, have two young children and like to bicker about the meaning of life. She is also the author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Cook a Tart\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMounting Desire\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eBelieve Me\u003c\/i\u003e is her third novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA PLUME BOOK\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTitle Page\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCopyright Page\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDedication\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter One\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Two\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Three\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Four\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Five\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Six\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Seven\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Eight\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Nine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Ten\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Eleven\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twelve\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Thirteen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Fourteen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Fifteen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Sixteen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Seventeen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Eighteen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Nineteen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty-one\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty-two\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty-three\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty-four\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty-five\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty-six\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter Twenty-seven\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA PLUME BOOK\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBELIEVE ME\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNINA KILLHAM lives in London with her husband and two children. \u003ci\u003eBelieve Me\u003c\/i\u003e is her third novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow to Cook a Tart\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A devilish delight . . . smart, sexy, hilarious and not to be missed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A delicate, wicked comedy that made me want to throw out my margarine and luxuriate in butter. I can relate to a book that celebrates eating and laughs at diets.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—Tracy Chevalier, author of \u003ci\u003eBurning Bright\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Wickedly funny.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eHow to Cook a Tart\u003c\/i\u003e is gastro-porn—as if Julia Child and William Burroughs had a bastard child. Filled with magnificent descriptions of the best of food, the novel’s dark subtext left me questioning whether I should cook less and have more sex—or cook more, just with more butter.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—Anthony Bourdain, author of \u003ci\u003eKitchen Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This debut black comedy . . . is not only delicious, it’s simultaneously rare and well-done.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eGlamour\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A wickedly wonderful dark comedy that makes mouths water and skewers self-proclaimed gourmands, cookbook writers, and self-righteous dieters.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eChicago Sun-Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMounting Desire\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Thoroughly amusing . . . Her send-up of romance novels is spot-on . . . a very funny, very clever, very adult novel.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Killham’s rollicking second novel . . . cleverly sends up the romance genre while standing as a funny, romantic novel in its own right. . . . Fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A dishy romp through the maze of chicks and lit.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Well-written and fast-paced. Killham lovingly pokes fun at romance-genre stereotypes. Readers who like wacky humor and can handle a few laughs at the expense of romance novels will enjoy this book.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eRomantic Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Killham’s extremely funny take on the dating scene . . . is a highly amusing read.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePLUME \u003cbr\u003ePublished by the Penguin Group \u003cbr\u003ePenguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. • \u003cbr\u003ePenguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, \u003cbr\u003eCanada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., \u003cbr\u003e80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, \u003cbr\u003eDublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), \u003cbr\u003e250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson \u003cbr\u003eAustralia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, \u003cbr\u003ePanchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo \u003cbr\u003eDrive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand \u003cbr\u003eLtd) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, \u003cbr\u003eJohannesburg 2196, South Africa \u003cbr\u003ePenguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England \u003cbr\u003eFirst published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. \u003cbr\u003eFirst Printing, February 2009 \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCopyright © Nina Killham, 2009\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll rights reserved\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eREGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLIBRARY Of CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKillham, Nina. \u003cbr\u003eBelieve me : a novel \/ Nina Killham. \u003cbr\u003ep. cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eeISBN : 978-1-101-01479-0\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Teenage boys—Fiction. 2. Mothers and sons—Fiction. 3. Faith—Fiction. \u003cbr\u003e4. Maryland—Fiction. 5. Domestic fiction. I. Title. \u003cbr\u003ePS3611.I45B35 2009 \u003cbr\u003e813’.6—dc22 2008022065 \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithout limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePUBLISHER’S NOTE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT QUANTITY DISCOUNTS WHEN USED TO PROMOTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. FOR INFORMATION PLEASE WRITE TO PREMIUM MARKETING DIVISION, PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC., 375 HUDSON STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10014 .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFor my children, Lara and Ben\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA big thank-you to Elise Laird, Amy C. Fredericks, Stuart Vogel, Tanner Parsons, Jonathan Drori, Lisa Hogg, Isobel Dixon, and Stuart Krichevsky. Special thanks go to my sister, Amanda Davis, for tirelessly reading my drafts, and to Sarah Fortna for reminding me I wanted to write this. And, as always, endless gratitude to Andrew, for making it all possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eChapter One\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eW\u003c\/b\u003ehat is the point of life? I mean, why do I have eight kinds of crunchy peanut butter to choose from, and this kid in Pakistan whose house just fell on his head doesn’t even have a word for peanut butter? Why does Darryl Green have five broken bones and I’ve never even sprained my ankle? Why do people die of stupid things all the time?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd I know what you’re thinking. Duh, you moron, you just noticed this now? And no, not just now, but I guess I’ve been thinking more about it because I’m thirteen. Mom calls it the “cusp” of manhood. She says the cusp used to be thirteen forty years ago, though now she says it doesn’t seem to arrive until a guy is at least thirty-five. So I’m thinking, okay, I’ve been born and, eventually, I’ll die, so now what? Am I supposed to do some living? But how? And if I don’t do it on reality TV, does it count?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nic, it’s a quarter to eight. You’ve got to go.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m busy here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You’re \u003ci\u003estill\u003c\/i\u003e in the bathroom?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Can’t rush these things.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You’re going to miss the bus.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Any minute now . . .”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMom keeps telling me she wants me to find my passion. She says she’s found hers: \u003ci\u003estars\u003c\/i\u003e. She’s this big professor of astrophysics at the University of Maryland. Says she’s lucky because she found her passion early and she wants me to find mine too. She’s pretty intense. Dad says it’s her red hair, and she always frowns and says that’s a cliché. But everyone knows clichés are usually true. My dad now lives in Williamsburg, Virginia. He’s a professor too. He got a job down there, but Mom had just gotten her job here and so she wasn’t budging. They were pretty calm about it. This town isn’t big enough for the both of us, he joked, when he stuffed all his clothes and a billion books into his Volvo and drove off.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s not like I don’t see him. I see him lots on the weekends and vacations. It’s been two years now. They’re not divorced; they’re not anything. I’m not sure what their point is. Maybe they’ll let me know.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo I’m living with Mom alone now and every morning she hassles me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Got everything?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yeah.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You sure?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yeah.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Great. See you later.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI’m halfway out the door when I remember. “Oh, we’re supposed to do an oral history project interviewing two generations older than us and turn it in this morning.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m going to kill you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven when Mom comes home from work wiped out, she doesn’t chill. When she comes home she starts her second job: tormenting me. She’s determined to teach me everything she knows. She keeps a humongous stack of books on the kitchen table. If a question comes up that I don’t know—and I mean any question, like What is the composition of a second generation star? or What era is a trilobite fossil from? or How many sperm does your average chimp have?—she considers it her duty to find out the rational answer then and there. It’s as though, if she doesn’t tell me right away I might break out in a bad case of ignorance and end up believing in astrology or superstitions or, worst of all, God.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe’s got a lot of opinions, my mom. And she’s not shy about telling you. Our car is the National Gallery of Bumper Stickers: FREETHINKER, ATHEISTS BELIEVE IN PEOPLE, PEACE Is PATRIOTIC, and the latest: ASTRONOMERS DO IT FOR The BIG BANG.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEverything is a debate with her. And she’s really smart. Though I got to tell you she sort of wears it on her sleeve. You know, the whole “I’m a brilliant scientist, so what the hell have you done lately?” You know the type. But she’s nice. She just gets worked up about things. Like the M74 galaxy. I mean, let’s face it, the thing is 30 million light-years away. Like it’s really going to affect us. Like it’s really going to change my day. But intelligence is a big thing for her. Nothing lamer than a dumb kid. Of course if you really are a dumb kid she’d sympathize and be all for the government paying for you to have tutoring.  She’s no ogre. She just doesn’t like brains wasted. Says they are “the hallmark of humanity.” Lucky for her I’m no slouch in that department. I’m a class-one brain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt school, Mrs. Brickman sees it differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nic, I see you’ve neglected the assignment again.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I told my mom, but she didn’t have time to drive me around.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This is the third time this month.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I told her.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m going to have to send a note home.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Maybe that’ll help. I don’t know.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen I get back that day from science club, Mom’s where she always is. In her souped-up home office. She’s got more wires in there than Barnum and Bailey. She spends most of her nights designing computer programs to measure how far away the stars are and what might be circulating around them. She’s a planet hunter. Which means she’s looking for a star that has a planet the same distance away from it as the earth is from the sun. She’s trying to prove that we are not the only life in the universe. That our world is way more complicated than we morons can imagine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What’s this?” she says when I come in and hand over the note.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s from my teacher. She says you’re really letting the team down.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“But . . .”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sign here and you can consider yourself formally warned.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nicolas . . .”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNicolas.\u003c\/i\u003e Can you believe it? She named me after Nicolas Copernicus. You know, the guy who figured out that the earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around? Can’t decide if that’s pretty cool or the geekiest thing ever. I change my mind a couple of times a day. So I’m Nic. Without the \u003ci\u003ek,\u003c\/i\u003e which is a real pain sometimes. The popular kids call me Nicotine. Otherwise it’s fine. Short and sweet. The name. Not me. I’m pretty tall for a thirteen-year-old. I just wish I’d bulk up. I’d ask Mom for some muscles for my birthday, but I don’t think she can deliver. Not that kind of scientist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLuckily she clicks off like a blinker at 9 pm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Is there anything I need to know about your education before you turn in?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m flunking math.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Very funny.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Later.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I love you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yeah, yeah.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMom likes to tell me she believes in the universe. She believes in its wonder. In its ability to confound us. Which is why she says she wants me to know everything. Why the leaves on the trees change colors. Why the sky is blue. How the wings of a bird make it fly.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plume","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304079249637,"sku":"NP9780452289765","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780452289765.jpg?v=1767722402","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/believe-me-isbn-9780452289765","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}