Thank you to my editors at Henry Holt, Laura Godwin and Julia Sooy, and to my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Also, a huge shout-out to the many SCBWI Japan members who shared feedback as this novel evolved. Special thanks to my Kamakura readers: Kris Kosaka, Alexander O. Smith, Heather Willson, and my husband, Bob Pomeroy. And deepest thanks, admiration, and hugs to my own children and their friends, and to children everywhere who have attended schools as second-language speakers or outsiders and have strived to find and make peace.