On the last day of elementary school, eleven-year-old Anna finds a leather-bound book about handwriting analysis. Anna could use help deciphering people. Her best friend has started wearing mascara and plans to spend the summer with a more fashionable classmate. And her parents threaten to give away her tortoises just because she’s a little forgetful about taking care of the sick one.Why does everyone expect Anna to change before middle school starts? She’sgoing to stay exactly the same. After all, large loopy letters, like Anna’s, showshe’s perceptive and generous. It’s everyone else’s sloppy writing that is so hard to understand. But a mysterious note forces Anna to make a choice between her graphology obsession and the people — and tortoises — she cares about the most.

The verb esperar means to wait. It also means to hope.-"The Past Was a Small Notebook, Much Scribbled-Upon", Cora Sire Waiting, that most human of experiences, saturates all of our lives. We spend part of each day waiting-for birth, death, appointments, acceptance, forgiveness, redemption. This collection of thirty-two personal essays is as much about hope as it is about waiting. Featuring literary voices from the renowned to the emerging, this anthology of contemporary creative nonfiction will resonate with anyone who has ever had to wait. Contributors: Samantha Albert, Rona Altrows, Sharon Butala, Jane Cawthorne, Weyman Chan, Rebecca Danos, Patti Edgar, John Graham-Pole, Leslie Greentree, Edythe Anstey Hanen, Vivian Hansen, Jane Harris, Richard Harrison, Elizabeth Haynes, Lee Kvern, Anne Levesque, Margaret Macpherson, Alice Major, Wendy McGrath, Stuart Ian McKay, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, Susan Olding, Roberta Rees, Julie Sedivy, Kathy Seifert, Cora Sire, Steven Ross Smith, Anne Sorbie, Glen Sorestad, Kelly S. Thompson, Robin van Eck, Aritha van Herk