When I was a kid, I used to read the liner notes of my Mariah Carey CD and dream about thanking everyone in my life on my eventual album. Well, now I get to do that, but luckily for all of us, I wrote a book instead of recording an album.
A huge thanks to my editor, Anna Roberto, for getting this book and Jolie’s voice from the very beginning (and for appreciating all of my weird jokes).
Thank you so much to Stephen Barbara, Best Agent Ever. Thank you for answering all of my many (many, many) questions. I’m extraordinarily lucky to have you in my corner.
Thank you to the entire team at Feiwel and Friends, specifically Jean Feiwel, both for creating this marvelous imprint and for coming up with this book’s title! Thanks to Kelsey Marrujo for all your hard work and the hundreds of emails you have to answer from me alone. And thanks to April Ward and Victor Bregante for creating such an eye-catching cover.
The biggest thanks possible to Lauren Dlugosz Rochford. Your feedback was essential to this book and I’m so grateful for your friendship! To paraphrase the great Kelly Clarkson, my books would suck without you.
Thank you to Catherine Stoner for being part of most of the moments that indirectly led to this book, and by that I mean making fun of that ABCs of Abstinence pamphlet.
Thank you to Alex Winfrey and Chase Winfrey for watching lots of terrible and not-so-terrible movies and television shows with me, from Gilmore Girls to Magic Mike to that Liberace biopic. A particular thank you to Alex for reminding me of the scoring system we created when we watched all those dance movies.
Thank you, as always, to my parents. I realize that not everyone has parents who encourage them to be creative. I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for the boys and me, whether that was paying for creative writing summer camp or building an art studio under the basement stairs. Sorry none of us turned out to be engineers, but you probably should’ve seen the signs.
Thank you to all of my friends and extended family members who have been so supportive and encouraging.
Thank you to Carly Rae Jepsen for recording the ideal book soundtrack.
Thank you to the independent bookstores that have been so supportive: Gramercy Books and the Book Loft in Columbus, Main Street Books in Mansfield, and Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati.
Writing is lonely sometimes, and I’m thankful for the writers I’ve met who have reassured me that I’m not alone, particularly Jen Maschari and Emily Adrian.
To all the readers and bloggers who’ve been so kind and supportive: THANK YOU. A special thank you to Jen from Pop! Goes the Reader. Your blog is a beacon of positivity.
Thank you to Hollis for always thinking I’m J. K. Rowling, despite all evidence to the contrary. You believed in me from the very beginning, and I couldn’t do this without you.
Biggest thanks to my cowriter/son, Harry. You were with me for this entire novel—literally, because sometimes I wrote while you were asleep on my chest. Mama loves you, little dude.
And lastly, to all the kids with underbites: I wrote this book because I had an underbite in high school. It was such a source of stress and pain for me, but I hope it isn’t for you. You’re fine the way you are, with surgery or without, and I hope it doesn’t take you as long as it took me and Jolie to figure that out.