Excerpt from Picture Us In The Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Yes, yes. It's finally here from RISD." He and my mom both pronounce it like four separate letters, R.I.S.D., instead of risdee. He's beaming. "Open it, Daniel, what does it say?"

"Okay. Um." I take a deep breath, try to calm my thudding heart. "Okay. Let's go inside first."

"It's the same outside or inside."

Except that inside we don't risk the neighbors getting a live-action shot of my every dream disintegrating. "Well—"

"Open it. Why wait?"

I applied for early decision two months and four days ago, and I've never been one of those people who can just put something so life-altering out of my mind. It's stupid how you can wait for something with every part of you, your every atom aligned toward that one moment, and then when it gets there you want more time. It's just that—if I didn't get in, I don't want to know it yet. I want the safety of hope just a little while longer.

"Here." He grabs it from me. "I'll open for you."

"Wait, Ba, I—"

He's too fast for me, though. My parents are convinced I'll get in. The day I turned in the portfolio my dad brought home sparkling cider and three mismatched champagne flutes he bought that day at Goodwill, and I haven't let myself imagine what it will do to them if I didn't make it. He's already got the letter out, is already reading it. "Dear Daniel—"

"Ba—"

Then he flings the letter to the grass. I've lost all vision. The world is a blur. His arms stutter toward me. Finally, I bring myself to look at his face.

He's laughing. Oh God. My heart swells, shoving my lungs against my rib cage and ratcheting my pulse so high I'm dizzy. I did it. All this time, and I did it. It's real.

He reaches out and pats me awkwardly on the shoulder, and then—he can't contain himself—crushes me in a hug before stepping back, embarrassed, smoothing his shirt. His eyes have reddened.

"Congratulations, Daniel," he says, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Everything is going to be all right for you now."

Excerpted from Picture Us In The Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert. Copyright © 2018 by Kelly Loy Gilbert. Excerpted by permission of Disney-Hyperion. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.