It’s happened. I’m finally cool enough to sit at the cheerleader table.

That is, if the “cheerleaders” are Ellen Hopkins, Tom Angleberger, Tera Lynn Childs, Ilsa Bick, Sara Zarr, and Kersten Hamilton, to name a VERY few.

And, of course, the “table” is the Dear Teen Me anthology, a book of letters from 70 YA authors to their teenage selves, coming from Zest Books on October 31, 2012.

Oh my gosh, this is so cool! Do you recognize Jennifer Ziegler on the cover, looking coy and cute with her corded phone? And Mike Jung, looking like the Eternal Band Geek of Awesomeness?And Jessica Lee Anderson, showing her mom the exact spot she wanted to get her tongue pierced? (Kidding, Jessica! I think…)

Here’s the official description:

Edited by Dear Teen Me blog founders Miranda Kenneally and E. Kristin Anderson, the letters in Dear Teen Me cover a range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. Your favorite YA authors dissect critical moments from their own young lives, and offer advice and guidance to their teenage selves.

Totally inspiring.

I’m so excited to be included in this. And my letter – like all the others — will be a totally new one. But I promise mine will be as awkward and painfully funny (now, not then) as THIS ONE and THIS ONE.

So, why not pre-order one of these fabulous, cheerleader-worthy anthologies?

Excuse me, I have to go hot-roller my hair now, and look through my old high school albums while listening to Duran Duran.