It takes a team of creative geniuses (present company excluded, of course) to make a book happen, and I’m so blessed to have been surrounded by just that kind of team as I wrote these pages. At the helm: Lanie Davis, Sara Shandler, Les Morgenstein, and Josh Bank at Alloy, and Cindy Eagan, Elizabeth Bewley, and Pam Gruber at Little, Brown. Each of you has made this process everything it should be: unbelievably fun, challenging in the best possible ways, and so very exciting. Thank you for giving me the space to grow these characters as I needed to, and for stepping in to offer your wisdom when I needed that, too.
Thank you to Rebecca Friedman at Hill Nadell. You’re a talented agent, a sounding board, a therapist, a brilliant mind, and a friend. To Kristin Marang for your website genius, your kindness and enthusiasm, and for answering my e-mails so cheerily, even when I clearly should have directed my questions elsewhere. Thanks to Mara Lander and Jessica Bromberg at Little, Brown for spreading the word in such cool, creative ways. To Carolyn Sewell, who executed the most perfect cover for this book. I’m continually amazed by your work. To Beth Clark, Liz Dresner, and Aiah Wieder for working your collective magic and producing such a beautiful book. And a huge thank-you to Katie Schwartz for getting this party started.
As always, my love and gratitude to my family: to my mother, Mimi, who is the single most encouraging presence in my life. To my father, Hugh, who’s always there to lend an inspired sentence or two (“It was a dark and stormy night…”). To my beautiful sister, Molly, and to her husband and my new brother, John—who bought every copy of Braces and Glasses off the shelf before anyone knew it was out. That’s awesome. Also, next time maybe you could leave a book or two for someone else.
Finally, my deepest thanks to the teachers and administrators of Episcopal School of Jacksonville, who shaped me as a writer and a human being, and who gave me a home away from home. You know who you are and what you’ve done. Not just for me, but for every student who has come through your doors. This book is for you.
mh