Thank you to my editors, Melissa Cox at Hodder & Stoughton and Libby Burton at Henry Holt, for bringing Suicide Club into the world. Not only did your wise, razor-sharp edits make this the best book it could possibly be, your generosity, enthusiasm, and friendship also made the publication process a true pleasure.
To Juliet Mushens—agent extraordinaire, human whirlwind, hard-nosed hustler, insightful editor, unflappable cheerleader, caring friend—thank you for making my dreams come true. You inspire me every single day. To Sasha Raskin, thank you for making US publication possible, as well as for all the great lunches and conversations.
Thank you to everyone at Faber Academy. Special thanks to Joanna Briscoe for reading the first ten thousand words of what would become this book and telling me not to give up. Thank you as well to Nicci Cloke for all the encouragement and advice. To my Faber classmates, especially early readers Melanie Garrett and Carol Barnes, thank you for all the feedback and support.
To all my friends, thank you for making me laugh, feeding my brain, and keeping me sane through this process. You give me faith that this world is full of adventure and possibility. To Sam and Christine, thank you for fifteen years of communal naps, inside jokes, public screaming, and long-distance love. To Vadim, thank you for Thanksgivings, Kenya, and all the Things We Did. I wouldn’t have done it without you.
To my mother, thank you for raising and loving me. Thank you for reading to me as a child, taking me to the library and letting me use all the library cards. You have given me countless gifts, but the love of reading is one that has shaped my life and made me the person I am today. Thank you to my brother, Kevin, for being my biggest fan since 1993. Thank you for being the smartest, kindest brother I could ever ask for. I love you both.
To Kalle, husband, soulmate, and best friend, thank you for telling me on that snowy New York night in 2009 that I should be a writer, five years before I would write my first short story. You understand me in ways that no one does; you read and nurture parts of my soul unknown to even myself. Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader, wisest mentor, harshest critic. I quite literally wouldn’t be a writer without you. Thank you for making me laugh helplessly every day, for challenging my mind and my soul, for making me feel a freedom, a lightness I had never felt before meeting you. You are the best thing in my life. I love you.