Lots of love to the Class of 2k12, Bookanistas, Apocalyp-sies, and YA Rebels groups for seeing me through a crazy year.Īnd last, but never least, Kym, my smart, generous sister, you manage my launch parties like Martha Stewart so I can fret about reading and having the right Sharpie. And to my beta readers, Gina Rosati, Kari Young, Debra Driza, and Jennifer Shaw Wolf, your notes and comments made a world of difference. To Kari Young, Jay Lehmann, Stephanie Kuehn, and Karen Langford, you are the best critique group bar none. Some readers proved invaluable in giving me feedback on various drafts. I was also lucky enough to workshop the first chapters in Italy with faculty mentor Lesléa Newman and fellow students Emily Smith, Lisa McShane, Cheri Thomas, Crystal Gold, Leah Henderson, and Kathie Wrightson. I wrote this book in my final semester at Spalding University’s MFA program with the encouragement of my faculty mentor, Mary Yukari Waters, who had a way of seeing my plot holes before I fell in them. The team at KTeen has been amazing to work with, especially Vida Engstrand, Craig Bentley, Arthur Maisel, Alicia Condon, Colleen Andrews, and Alexandra Nicolajsen. I will forever be grateful for that and your dedication ever since. And to Martin Biro, you took over mid-series, and you made the transition seamless.

My wide-eyed terror turned to outright laughter at your love of a certain character that would not stay where I’d assigned him. Megan Records, thank you for enthusiastically climbing aboard when my plot jumped rails. I was lucky enough to work with two editors on this book.

It helps to know that you’ll be there when I freak out. To my agent, Laura Bradford, thank you for loving this series and kindly talking me down from the ledge of a deadline meltdown, tears and all. These are the things a lifelong friend is made of. “Writing” at Starbucks, daily sanity checks, asthma-inducing laughter. All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Pushed corrine jackson