On the professional side, I would like to thank my agent, Scott Miller; my editor, Aimee Friedman; and the Scholastic crew — Lauren Felsenstein, Nikki Mutch, Becky Shapiro, Jackie Hornberger, Tim Hall, and Yaffa Jaskoll. Also props to Erwin Madrid for the incredible cover illustrations.

On the personal end, thanks to:

My friend Josh Plati, for answering all my school questions.

My son, Ryan, for making me laugh and making me proud.

Mike, my parents, and Susan, for listening to all my crazy plot ideas. And for putting up with me when I’m … well … crazy.

Local friends and kids in town, for being so excited about this series.

And, most of all, thanks to you. Yes, YOU. Without readers there would be no writers. And all these characters would just be stuck in my head with nothing to do.