Everything That Makes You (23 page)

Warmth poured out of him as he laughed against her fingers. “I think I'm done talking, anyway.”

He drew both of her hands in his and gently pressed her backward. He leaned closer and closer until Fiona's back was on the wooden deck. He hovered over her, his body blocking her view of the stars.

And then they kissed under the hot, summer sky.

I always read authors' acknowledgments, but not until writing my own did I realize what a challenge they are. There are so many people who have supported me and touched this book. A few, brief words doesn't seem like enough, but since I can't send everybody cookies, it'll have to do.

Firstly, I'd like to thank you, the reader. There are so many ways you can spend your time and money—I'm deeply grateful that you chose me. And while I've got your attention, let me clarify that Fiona's story is a fictional one. While I researched burns and transplants, I took poetic license with many of the details. To the best of my knowledge, no surgery can erase such significant scarring. I look forward to the day when medical science catches up with my imagination.

Jill Davis, thank you, thank you, thank you for loving this book as much as I did—and then making it better. You've held my hand all the way, and I can't imagine going through this process with anyone else. I am a better writer because of you.

Steven Chudney, you took a chance on me and have been in my corner ever since. I cannot express how much you have changed my life.

I want to thank everyone at HarperCollins and Katherine Tegen Books, especially Katherine Tegen; Laurel Symonds; my copy editors Veronica Ambrose and Alexei Esikoff; artists and designers Erin Fitzsimmons (who created the art on my beautiful cover), Barb Fitzsimmons, and Amy Ryan; marketing and publicity gurus Alana Whitman, Lauren Flower, and Rosanne Romanello; Margot Wood and Aubrey Parks-Fried at the Epic Reads team; and everyone else who's helped get
Everything That Makes You
on the shelves.

Thank you to those writers who've helped me through the rough
patches. Ashley Elston, you've been a vital critique partner since the beginning. Katherine Brauer, your Crits for Water feedback was the last push I needed. Genetta Adair and Megan Basham, our weekly “Plot Walks” keep me sane.

Thanks to Class of 2k15 and the Fearless Fifteeners, who've made this debut novel experience less overwhelming, and to SCBWI Mid-South and the Memphis SCBWI group.

Thanks to the staff—and other coffee drinkers—at Otherlands, where most of this book was written. It's real and pretty much just like I described, garage sale chairs and all. If you're ever in Memphis, grab some coffee there and maybe write a book.

I'm so grateful to all the friends and family who became my consultants: Anne Andrews, my Ole Miss fact checker; Dr. David Laird, who talked me out of one disease and gave me another; and my father-in-law, Dr. Yong Hae Lee, for answering all my plastic surgery and transplant questions. And to those who read earlier stories—Melissa McStay, Anita Arbalaez, Lori McStay, and Robbie Weinberg, I'm looking at you—thank you for not laughing at me. To my face, at least.

I thank my family, especially Mom and Dad, for supporting me, always; Melissa and Jared; the GoStay clan; and all the Lees and Williamsons.

And now, for the people who need the biggest thanks of all (and who actually might get cookies, albeit the organic kind they won't want to eat): Claire, for reading everything I've written with openhearted enthusiasm; Samantha, for giving me ideas when I'm stuck; and Madeleine, for tolerating my random texts, like “Would you ever use the word
angst
?” Thank you all for being my guinea pigs, supporting this journey, and loving books as much as I do. In return, I promise a lifetime supply of fake Oreos—and even that cruise, one day.

And Sam. Every crazy, random choice I've made, you've supported me. Of everything that makes me, you are the better parts. Thank you. I love you.

Photo by Daniel Frederick

MORIAH MCSTAY
attended Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. Two graduate degrees and seven jobs later, she's finally figured out what she wants to be when she grows up. Now she lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband and three daughters. She's happy with all the choices and chances that brought her there.

Everything That Makes You
is her first novel for teens, and she's probably at home right now working on another one. You can find her online at
www.moriahmcstay.com
.

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Cover photograph © 2015 by Emily Soto

Cover hand lettering and design by Erin Fitzsimmons

Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Never May the Fruit Be Plucked” from
Collected Poems
. Copyright 1923, 1951 by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Norma Millay Ellis. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Holly Peppe, Literary Executor, The Millay Society, www.millay.org.

Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

EVERYTHING THAT MAKES YOU
. Copyright © 2015 by Moriah McStay. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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ISBN 978-0-06-229548-4

EPub Edition © February 2015 ISBN 9780062295507

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FIRST EDITION