ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

. . . In which I fall far short of conveying the depth of my gratitude to the people who brought this book to life.

First, to Jessica Garrison, an editor so wise, kind, and funny that she magically draws out the same qualities in everything she works on. Thank you for seeing the book of my heart underneath those early drafts and for having faith in me as it made its way onto paper.

To Katelyn Detweiler and the rest of the Jill Grinberg Literary team, who support me like we’re family.

To Donna, Charlotte, and Pam, who do the same (although we actually are family—lucky me!).

To Mary Frame and Kim Liggett for your notes and encouragement when this story was in its earliest iterations, and to Lexi Beach, the Fearless Fifteeners, and everyone else in the book community who made my debut year (AKA the year I wrote this book) so memorably warm and vibrant.

Many thanks to the team at Dial and Penguin Young Readers Group, especially Regina Castillo, who made this book make sense; Dana Chidiac and Kristen Tozzo, who kept the trains running on time; Dana Li and Danielle Calotta, who must have found a mystical portal into the world of the book, because those cover models are my characters; Mina Chung, for her lovely design; Lauri Hornik and Namrata Tripathi, inestimable champions; the wonderful Lindsay Boggs, who, aside from all her publicity magic, makes me feel cooler just from knowing her; and Doni Kay, along with the rest of the PYRG Sales, Marketing, and Publicity departments, for all their hard work and dedication.

Finally, thank you to Lexi and Connie, Mike and Jeff, Mary Ann and Lisa, Ashley and Jen, and countless other swoontastic couples I count myself blessed to know. Thank you for letting me appear as an occasional comedic guest star in your love stories.

And to Rob, Ollie, and Henry, of course, for making my own story a love story too.